The situation facing the new president is shockingly unprecedented. Barack Obama will obviously go down in history as the first black president of the US, but also for the times in which he has had to govern. Only history will tell whether or not Obama rose to the occasion. A devastated global financial landscape in freefall is what awaits the new president, who, together with the world’s other leading figures, is expected to devise a new form of capitalism.
The G20 summits and their various offshoots will take place over the coming months. A long and uncertain process that would have been derailed by McCain and the Republicans under the pretext of protecting the free market in a fundamentalist manner. Obama supports the death penalty, is anti-abortion, and attends mass almost daily, yet he is still the progressive option who may be more receptive to the The Reformation of Capitalism. But let us be responsible, G20 leaders: without proposals or agreements that are surprising and groundbreaking, we will not find a solution. And only Obama and his team would be able to accept and work on drastic proposals; McCain would not.
What will these proposals be? There is much speculation, but it is nothing more than that. However, it seems logical to assume that preparations for the forthcoming summits – at least for the first one on 15 November – are likely to be very intense. All the heads of state involved in the G20 in one way or another are set to experience moments of glory for their own self-importance. Unfortunately, some will not be up to the task, but these incompetents can rest assured that no one will ever find out. For the time being, the mere fact of acknowledging that the future of the global economy – that is to say, the future of the planet – must lie in the hands of some twenty countries, including states with per capita income of just 1.000$ is already a great achievement for humanity. This simple yet magnificent organisational success – unimaginable amidst the frenzy of the welfare state – is a sign that our leaders (everyone’s leaders) have grasped the significance of the moment. And the G20 leaders and their respective teams represent us all, even if there are not 21 or 22 of them. Only if we see it this way – those who are included and those who are left out – will we be securing the future of humanity.
Now, G20 leaders, surprise us with your proposals. It won’t be McCain we can blame for the failure of the measures to be taken, but Barack Obama, the first black president in US history. Gimme Hope, Obama, Gimme Hope…
This is the current list of G20 members: Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the United States, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Russia, South Africa, Turkey and the European Union.
P.S. If, against all expectations, McCain wins, we’ll be writing about it shortly Gimme Hope, Obama, Gimme Hope (Part 2).