By David Lewis features@algarveresident.com
David Lewis lives in Praia da Luz with his wife Shirley, and two children, Ollie and Fraser. Having spent more than 25 years in the City of London, he is now Financial Services Manager with the Oceânico Group.
So, as World Cup fever grips the globe, the UK general election is starting to fade fast in the memory.
The new coalition has almost finished deciding who gets which office, Nick and Dave have agreed a rota for Downing Street’s prime ministerial loo and Gordon has skulked off, presumably to take up a post as a Presbyterian minister somewhere in the Scottish outback where he can continue to pontificate each week to, admittedly, a slightly smaller, but potentially more appreciative, audience.
As the dust begins to settle on the new and historic alliance, thoughts must, of course, now turn to dealing with the worst economic crisis in living memory.
Apparently, the size of the UK’s debt is equivalent to each and every one of us owing the sum of £13,904, which I reckon is pretty good news because the last time I looked at my mortgage and credit card bills, it was a lot more than that. So, coalitions do work then.
Will the new Government save us or are we doomed to head, Greece-like, into the depths of financial ruin? Much will, I guess, depend on how well the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats can work together. So far, it’s all been sweetness and light (apart, of course, from the unfortunate incident with the Minister who couldn’t quite work out whether he was in or out of a relationship, deciding that, financially at least, a casual fling made more sense) but will it last? I reckon that, if we give it a chance, it just might.
There is an old adage in life that two heads are better than one and, when it comes to global and domestic politics, I think that makes some sense.
Take, for example, the recent rantings of President Obama at the chief executive of BP, a fairly shameless bout of posturing that carries serious implications for pretty much anyone with an interest in a pension scheme.
Now, there is no doubt that what has happened in the Gulf is catastrophic and that every pressure needs to be applied to stop the flow of oil gushing into its beautiful clear waters, and that no expense should be spared on the clean up, but was the President really being well advised when he chose to continuously attack BP in a clear show of made-for-TV bravado? I think not.
Firstly, let’s not forget that the oil platform in question was actually being leased to BP by another company, Transocean. Not only that but a third company, Halliburton, had been working on the oil cap before it exploded. If I am not very much mistaken, both Transocean and Halliburton are US companies.
Then there is the impact on BP’s share price. Sure, the demands to cut the dividend and to threaten BP with legal action look great on the Jay Leno show, but it has resulted in a freefall in BP’s share price. Something that is not only of interest to UK shareholders who own 40 per cent of BP, but to US shareholders and pension scheme members, who own another 39 per cent.
On the basis that America has as much interest in a strong BP as we do, I’m not entirely sure that undermining the company in the way we have seen recently is really a very smart move.
I just think that, were the Americans benefitting from the same “two heads are better than one” advantage that we get with our new, shiny coalition Government, someone might have quietly leant across and whispered in Obama’s ear, “You appear to be aiming at your own foot, Mr President”.
You see, I might be very naive in matters politic but, in my opinion, I rather like the idea of a coalition set-up that provides a system of check and balance. It’s quite reassuring to think that as one power mad bureaucrat comes up with their latest scheme to bleed us dry, another, more reasoned observer, might gently reach across and place a restraining hand on their shoulder.
So, what about the serious decisions then? Quite clearly, some very tough decisions are going to need to be made. Decisions that will have a deep and profound impact on everyone’s lives and on the very mood of the nation itself. Such as, will Rooney’s knee hold up? And, can Lampard and Gerrard ever really play in the same four man midfield together?
I am joking of course. Obviously, it would be good for everyone if England were to have a successful World Cup (well, everyone but the Scots and Welsh, perhaps) but there is no doubt that a good Cup run tends to lift the prevailing mood of doom and gloom, which, in my view, is an important part of our recovery plan.
It won’t take away the problems but will maybe make us feel better placed to deal with them.
Dave and Nick have a lot riding then on their collective shoulders. They will make mistakes, of course, but I reckon they should be given a chance to show what they can do.
We also mustn’t forget that, between them, they represent a much higher percentage of the British population than is the case for most previous Governments. And about 100 per cent more public votes than the last Prime Minister ever managed.
And, if President Obama continues to bully one of our biggest and best known companies, tell him we’ll be sending both boys round!
