How do you solve a problem like Maria?
"How do you solve a problem like Maria ?", wonders Martyn Best, "How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand? How do you solve a problem like . .. . the UK national debt !!"
Well the Austrian Alps may not be the place to find the solution, but perhaps the Canadian Rockies are.
It seems that both of our next alternatives to Government have been talking to our Canadian friends, who in the '90's were not alone in facing a problem that most of the developed world is currently facing now. That uninspiring mix of a downturn, high public spending and massive public debt. However, in a staggeringly honest and radical approach, Canada's leaders of the time took an unprecedented approach to the problem. They decided to do what they felt was above all things the right action, in direct contrast to what may have been the most politically expedient.
In an illuminating interview in the UK this week, Mary Clancy, former Canadian MP recorded how the Chretien government instigated a radical cost cutting budget reducing public spending by around 40% across the board.
Popular policy? Heck, no, and many of those members of Parliament duly lost their seats.
Effective policy - well within 3 years the economy was back on track, public debt under control, and the effect is still being felt today with the Bank of Canada announcing yesterday that the recession was essentially over.
Little wonder that our own politicians are listening.
As for Mary, she was one of those who lost their seat, but seemed to have few regrets; and as for Maria . . . .
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