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National interest will lead to deal. A Lib/Lab coalition would be dogged by sectional interests more than a Con/Lib one. Brown looks like a caretaker.

How will the new government : get credit flowing to business where investment has collapsed by 25% since 2007; encourage economic growth when the Euro GDP is flat; counter the inflationary pressures coming down the line from sterling depreciation; tackle structural deficit; sell new gilts and QE gilts in a volatile investment market...

Scarey stuff. Hidden in them thar peaks is the price we might have to pay to service unprecedented levels of national debt. Think cuts in public expenditure and taxes rises beyond what has been revealed (and what has been conceaed) to the electorate. Think devaluation of an already weakened pound.

A Damoclean sword hangs over the country this weekend. Does Gordon Brown consider that he - and only he - can steer a path out of the current disaster, and try to cling on to power even though he has no popular mandate? Clearly those whose business is money (as opposed to armchair economists) strongly disagree.

Those hoofbeats are getting louder.

i do seem to remember various countries stated love him or hate him gordon brown,that his intervention with alaister darling prevented a worse situation when the banks ripped us all off than george osbourn's idea.this does concern many voters,we all know the money(grabbers) markets are very fickle 2faced greedy bunch.already the politicians are showning a disregard to the electorate.nobody could complained if the tory's rompped home but they havent.mr cameron take heed.scaremongering the british public and basically denying the facts that a COALITION could be the answer our nation yearns.I HOPE FOR THE TORY'S SAKE THEY GET THIS RIGHT BECAUSE IF THEY DONT.KISS GOODBYE CONservative party

FORGET RATIONAL POLICIES - THINK IRRATIONAL PERSONALITIES.

Raw ambition, however heavily cloaked runs these Westminster Creatures; anything less, and they would run from that vile place and not return.

Forget altruism and love of fellow man - ask what DRIVES THEM - what do they want, what is their NEED, what MUST THEY HAVE? (If you doubt me, look at today's Tony Blair.)

We need shrewd psychologists among political commentators.

PS The insufferable John Major was prissing his 'wisdom' this evening - hardly bearable. He seems to think he is the Conservative Elder Statesman. (Another example, if one were needed!)

BROWN KNOWS THE WAY OUT THROUGH THE MINEFIELD (#2)

He, personally, trod on all the mines on the way in.

Ali campbell clearly thinks GB has v strong chance of staying in No 10 tho PM seems to hold out possibility of GB standing down (the price for a Lib-Dem deal.

cue monday: Lib-Dem activists and MPs can't wear the Tory finance plans and long grass for electoral reform; Tory backwoodsmen won't wear Lib-Dem electoral reform: stalemate and collapse of NC-DC deal.

tues: NC can't sell GB as PM to country/press so asks PM/PLP to plunge Damoclean sword into GB's back. Meanwhile DC bets that NC doesn't have cahones to prop up Labour or guile to outwit PM/AC. press urges Tories try to go it alone.

wed: DC forms prospective minority govt during GB & NC negotiations. NC bottles it and DC forms minority govt.

thurs: NC says he'll vote down a QS sans electoral reform bill/referendum. cue huge spike in UK gilt yields.

fri: DC heads minority govt daring NC to vote down the QS. DC govt falls at QS vote. Run on pound. chaos.

IMF arrive week on monday.

ALI CAMPBELL IS THE ONLY OTHER PERSON WHO THINKS BLAIR IS MESSIAH (#6)

Surely you saw his venom-filled, over emphasised, laser-eye directed at Chilcott when the latter DARED to even address the possibility that Great Tony might have misled the country?

Now THERE is a perfect example of PERSONALITY dominating all else (see #4). Any policy emerging from Alistair Campbell, needs to be carefully placed in a bucket of water.

One of the central problems with this country is that we pay far too much attention to "the City". Many other groups within society, including those of greater fundamental importance than the contrived and self-interested "City", also have opinions on what form and colour of government is best for this country, but they are ignored by the media and by politicians.

The "City" should be brought to heel and its influence greatly reduced - it should be made to serve the people, not vice versa, as at present. The recent financial crisis has demonstrated the irresponsible, greedy and parasitical nature of the "City". We should put in place mechanisms to ensure that the old adage "you can't buck the market" is destroyed once and for all. And, over the coming days of uncertainty, the narrow opinions of the "City" should be ignored.

Paul
That hedgie was rather rude about your graph tonight. Indulgent was an overused word. Looks like it's the markets vs ECB. Banks or countries which to default first?

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The reality is that big money likes governments that screw the people and doesn't like any suggestion of people having a say. And it has the power, through 'rating agencies', to decree when a govt is 'bad' enough, in those terms, to 'warrant' high interest on its borrowings, thus punishing it.

So we have to be strong enough to resist being dominated by that. And it is the job of economics reporters to make clear what is going on - in the big picture, not just following along with graphs going up and down.

Long live Greek resistance

Brits unable to vote.... so why don't we do it at weekends like in Europe? This year was the first time in years when I found the time to vote. Yesterday, I had no problem to vote at 8.30 pm after work commitments. i made the extra effort because of the Iraq war and Afghanistan war ( hardly mentioned)also Blair's abandonment of his role mid term (why)?
But in other years it has usually been too late for me after work etc to get the energy together to find my polling card and then place to vote!! where in Europe did this ever happen that people had to queue to vote and then not be able to? How primitive is that? The disenfranchised should take it to the Europe Court of human rights. Britain is so so primitive in its arrangements. We need fundamental voting reform in all areas. PS: 'First past the post' is rubbish democracy! What a shower!

Why did no. 10... break house rules? please explain?

Why did no 10 get banned, edited out, modded???

The markets rule....Ha! So much for the illusion of possibilities of democracy!

Yes #15,

In Fiji, there is one day of the year when students can throw water over their teachers. There are other 'one day in the year' customs elsewhere when tables are turned.

We should have one day of the year when we have real reporting.

Equally interesting were the graphs you showed suggesting liquidity problems for various "PIGS-zone" banks.
This presumably results from the market reaction to their nation's borrowing.
The required fix will presumably be for the national govts to underwrite/refinance them, ie increase their national borrowing. (with the consequence that ....)
Is the market explicitly designed to turn every problem into a disaster?

PITHYWRITER

The rules for Blogdog moderation, are similar to those for MPs - "Do as thou wilt shall be the whole of the law" - all wrapped up in a ramble.

As for Blair DUMPING Sedgefield, to me THAT was his most immediate/tangible disgrace. I have never seen it mentioned till your #12 (except by me, and that doesn't count).

The other glaring truth is that IDS whipped all but a few Tory ninnies to push the Iraq war through, while over 100 (from memory) Labour rebels did not vote 'yes'. And now IDS can be seen (with his feeble head flopped over) doing good works for children - EXCEPT THOSE BURIED UNDER RUBBLE of course.

Another MP whose PERSONALITY guides POLICY.

Something about that hedge fund manager guy reminded me of Richard Fuld..yuk.

Drop him off in the middle of an african village someone with his millions and see how long he lasts eating them and building a shelter out of them. He must have gambled big on UK plc collapse in short order to drag himself out from under his rock to offer up his 'wisdom' on newsnight.

I am reasonably hopeful that a con / lib coalition can work. In a strange kind of way such a seemingly bizarre alliance has the right kind of qualities needed to best negotiate the crisis if they do put partizan politics aside for once and engage in an unleveraged way with the issues, drawing on the best policies of each party.

For example:

Replace trident with something cheaper and almost as effective

Start the cuts sooner to calm the markets but balance the public sector outcry at job loses by re-balancing the tax system in line with the lib dems more equitable £10,000 tax proposals.

If that sort of thing is on offer, PR should not become a sticking point for now, they should simply 'agree to disagree' on it for now, park it and get on with saving the nation.

See what I mean?


Compared with the eurozone genetically flawed experiment and the current crisis it has caused (when exposed to real pressure for the first time), we could suddenly start to look like a model of sensible governance.

Go for it please David, Nick and your respective teams, put your country first and really mean it in a genuine coalition of talents uncluttered by party self interes to navigate the uncharted water to come.

There is a huge positive opportunity hidden in all of this.... take it.


Jericoa

what was that about banana republics? We have become one.....and next week after the markets open on Monday...we will become GREECE!

If the pound drops to equivalence with ONE Euro and One Dollar the move to one world currency will come closer. From every negative event there is also an opportunity. Having put in the IMF into Euroland what is now needed is to put it into Britain. The IMF only works for the banksters and it aims to shut down all health, educational institutions and any remnants of the welfare state. Corporate welfare actually makes money out of a crisis, hence its promotion as if you dont do this, the markets will shut you out or bankrupt you. The market is king even when it is dead...

I suspect most people do not realise what a fragile and volatile situation Europe as a whole is in.

I seriously hope that Eurozone ministers have a plan B somewhere where (obviously) they are not telling anyone about for now.. but have it stashed away in a drawer marked 'Top secret' they must.

What they are talking about at the moment seems like the equivalent of a fiscal mexican standoff with the markets with the livelihoods and stability of hundreds of millions of people at stake.

They appear to be trying to assemble all the ammunition they have in the fiscal locker in one place, offer up no alternative vision and dare the markets to call their bluff!

This is no way to govern and the markets know it, what we are about to see is probably the equivalent of the biggest 'bluff' in a game of poker the world has ever seen in order to defend a genetically flawed currency.

For the sake of the people they are supposed to serve, i hope someone asks the question this afternoon '' what plans do we have in place if this does not work' ?

As a minor side issue, clegg and cameron need to make a decisive announcement TODAY or risk getting caught up in the what could be some subsytantial Eurozone crossfire. A decisive announcement would offer at least a modicum of protection.

Any views on the above? Thats the way I see it anyway, I would be facinated to hear other regular bloggers take on all this, or are you all too busy stocking up on camping stoves and sacks of rice to post at the moment:)

You didnt point out that 1 point movement up on guilt rates costs us 30% more interest payments.

Is rates going from 3 to 4% means repayments got from £3 to £4 for evey 100 borrowed! or and extra 100Million for every Billion we owe!

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