Tag: Accountability

Perhaps hope and ideology will prove victorious, in Iraq and on Wall Street - but real life and budgetary arithmetic generally win out. In this week's article, John explains why he might be one of the few foreigners to vote for the re-election of George W. Bush.

Four years from now, the space agency plots to send a rocket to the moon to find out whether its made of blue cheese. Today, near the fourth anniversary of Germany's 3G mobile license auction, John reminds us of a fairy tale that shows how vanity and greed can promote large-scale self-delusion.

Because no rule or code can define the character of a non-executive, even boards compliant with every code and regulation will range from the effective to the useless. Shareholders should keep an eye on excessive remuneration and vainglorious acquisitions, and intervene in issues of management succession when it appears that non-executive directors have become too close to the company to do a proper job.

When things go wrong, members of effective organisations come together to put them right; members of ineffective organisations scatter to escape the blame. It should be no different for politicians, and in the long run it is not.

A nodding acquaintance with modern finance theory tells you that the strategy of Equitable Life was the financial equivalent of alchemy or perpetual motion. Yet, Lord Penrose is wrong to believe that tighter regulation is the best solution – the only answer is higher standards of both ethics and competence in the whole financial services industry.

Nothing so much undermines public regard for politics and business as the increasingly widespread practice of equivocation. In the light of the spectacle surrounding the Hutton report, this wisdom should be extended beyond the tale of St Athanasius.

Following and trying to manipulate public opinion too closely can lead to a superficially participative democracy. As the recent example in California demonstrates, in this context the emergence of inspirational leaders is unlikely.

The market truly values advisers it can trust; subsequently the effort to impress may have the opposite results.

The effort to define the 'third way' for the centre left after socialism continues with Gordon Brown's extended essay on economic philosophy to the Social Market Foundation. His analysis has many attractions - and many unresolved problems.

Tony Blair has shown decisive leadership qualities in putting forward necessary but unpopular proposals to restore universities' freedom to set fees. It needs to be matched by similar qualities of leadership in the universities themselves.