14 June 2007

Imagine if our leaders were chosen on World Bank lines?

Illustrating neatly my reasons for supporting the campaign to democratise global instutions, there is this piece in today's Guardian.
"Imagine for a moment what the UK would look like if the written constitution that Gordon Brown thinks we need were based on the structures of the IMF and the World Bank.
Instead of being elected, every prime minister would be personally appointed by the leader of Surrey county council and the chancellor of the exchequer by the heads of London borough councils. Parliament would meet for two days twice a year, and MPs would only read out prepared statements, allowing no time for discussion. MPs' votes would be weighted according to their constituencies' incomes, so that rich areas accounting for 15% of the population would have 60% of the votes. The MP for Surrey would alone have twice as many votes as the MPs for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Northern England combined - enough to veto any constitutional change."

And there's more ...
Any way, David Woodward of NEF concludes the article thusly:
start by pushing for: the abolition of the principle of "economically weighted" voting that currently gives over half the votes to just seven countries - the G7; a transparent decision-making process; and an open and democratic system for the selection of the bank president and the IMF's managing director. Maybe then we could begin to develop a global governance system capable of meeting the global challenges of the 21st century.

A modest proposal but one that a supporter of UNPA could nod to.
Imagine if our leaders were chosen on World Bank lines | Guardian daily comment | Guardian Unlimited:

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