So far, the speculation about Canadian Mark Carney’s future has been left to the news media. After all, what is left to do when you have been Governor of both the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England? The news media are picking politics for Carney. Judging by the book that he just had published, the pundits need to do some heavy reading before passing on that judgement.
With degrees in economics from both Harvard and Oxford, you can understand why Carney could keep pointing out to the Brits that they are going to be sorry for Brexit. Their sloppy, ill-advised and over-extended negotiations with the European Union of their exit practically guaranteed their regrets.
And with his new job in the private sector and his role in the upcoming climate conference (COP 26) in Glasgow this November, Carney really has little time for Canadian politics.
That being said, he does have much to contribute. This is an economist who has a very clear understanding of the problems related to the concentration of capital in too few hands. One of his academic theses at Oxford was on the need for business to have competition. He is hardly your usual picture of a conservative banker.
Personally, I am going to wait until I hear what he has to say tonight at the liberal policy conference. The question really is whether he can put his ideas in a political context.
And, until he makes whatever decision on politics, he is dabbling his feet in the private sector with a cushy job at Brookfield Asset Management as vice-chairman and he is also a director of Stripe, the American-Irish payment processing company.
It will be very important to see how what he says tonight stacks up along with finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s first federal budget later this month.
Politics is getting interesting again!
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