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The Boy’s Done Good! Either That or He’s Gone Bonkers.
Has George Osborne gone off his rocker? More to the point, was he ever on his rocker in the first place?
Here’s what he has proudly told the Institute of Directors:
We have the interest rates of Germany despite having a bigger budget deficit than Greece or Portugal.
That is our achievement.
“That is our achievement.” Well, yes, in the sense that going over the credit limit on your Barclaycard without having your card declined in Sainsburys would be an achievement.
German interest rates are set by the European Central Bank and apply to the whole of the Eurozone, not just Germany. He might just as well have said, “We have the interest rates of Greece and Portugal.”
What’s more, the European Central Bank has started increasing those Eurozone interest rates. The Bank of England have failed to increase British rates, despite resurgent inflation in Britain that is expected even by the Bank to go on rising well into next year.
What’s more, Mr Osborne is not responsible for setting interest rates, is he? As they keep on telling us, the Bank of England sets interest rates and is completely independent.
And finally, the reason the Bank has opted to keep British rates so low is because the British economy is so weak.
Some “achievement”!
