As the self appointed economic guardians of the world and thousands of protesters converge on Pittsburgh for the third summit of the Group of 20, expectations are low that a breakthrough in the form of some coordinated action to come to grips with the global economic crisis will issue from the meeting.
Despite President Nicolas Sarkozy’s threat to walk out of the summit if leaders do not agree to put a cap on executive pay and bonuses, which are seen as key causes of the financial implosion, consensus on this issue is likely to be more in rhetoric than in substance owing to Washington’s continuing preference for voluntary compliance on the part of bankers. As some observers have pointed out, this is akin to asking alcoholics to abstain from alcohol. Read more