Spotlight on Mark Carney
By Erica Alini - Wednesday, February 6, 2013 - 0 Comments
(Chris Wattie/Reuters)
Outgoing Bank of Canada governor and Mark Carney will face British MPs in London tomorrow a few months before taking the helm of the Bank of England on July 1.
The hearing before the British Treasury Select committee is a first in the history of the 319-years old BoE. In part, this reflects increased scrutiny of the central bank by elected officials at a time when it is taking on new, sweeping powers, such as oversight of Britain’s financial institutions.
But the hearing, of course, will also be a chance for British MPs to grill the first foreigner to head what the British affectionately call the “Old Lady of Threadneedle Street.” Is the Canuck really better than any of the smart Britons who were vying for the job? British lawmakers and the media have been wondering since Carney’s appointment in November.
Carney has, if you will, an “Obama problem.” In January 2009, the first African American president of the United States took charge at a time when the country had plunged in the worst recession since the 1930s. In 2013, the first Canadian BoE governor will take the helm of monetary policy in a United Kingdom that is possibly facing a “triple-dip” economic downturn. And we all know what happened to Obama’s halo…
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The Carney affair: ‘There is a risk on being open about your place on the political spectrum’
By Aaron Wherry - Monday, December 17, 2012 at 10:51 PM - 0 Comments
Jim Flaherty has nothing to say about Mark Carney and the Liberals.
“I have no comment on any of that,” he said. “I usually have comments on everything, but I have no comment on any of that.”
The New Democrats would like you to know that Peggy Nash would never invite the bank governor to her vacation home.
A New Democratic Party spokesman said Monday the party considers the Bank of Canada governor to be a non-partisan position and would never undermine that by inviting the governor to stay at an MP’s house.
And several British MPs are eager to hear what Mr. Carney has to say for himself.
Andrew Tyrie, the Tory chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, told the Times of London on Monday: “My colleagues will want to address every such issue at the preappointment hearing.” … Some British Conservative MPs who want Britain to adopt a more aggressive monetary policy expressed concern to The Times on Monday about Mr. Carney’s conversations with Canadian Liberal Party members. Mark Field, the Tory MP for the City of London, said: “Now we know he’s a liberal, there seems no doubt that it will be ‘business as usual’ for interest rates right through until 2015.” Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Somerset Tory MP, told The Times: “There is a risk on being open about your place on the political spectrum. Having someone with known political views in a nominally apolitical job can lead to disagreements.”
