Payback time for Gordon Brown as Mervyn King backs Obama
Gordon Brown was yesterday stabbed in the back by Mervyn King when the Gov of the Bank of England sided with Pres Obama and his banking levy as opposed to Gordon Brown and his so-called "Tobin tax". It had appeared yesterday was to mark the re-emergence of Gordon Brown as an international statesman after he reiterated his plans for a tax on every financial transaction and appeared to suggest there was growing support for his idea.
Today those comments and those assumptions lay in tatters with more and more prominent figures from the world of finance looking towards Pres Obama's banking levy. Unless Gordon Brown backtracks it would appear he may well be sidelined and isolated yet again just as it appeared he was making headway on the international scene and with UK voters.
It has been common knowledge in the markets that Mervyn King and Gordon Brown have not seen eye to eye for some time with speculation that Mervyn King would have lost his position at the Bank of England early last year but for the recession. Whether yesterday was Mervyn King's time to gain revenge on Gordon Brown is debatable but the UK prime minister certainly felt the impact of the Bank of England seemingly siding with the US authorities rather than the UK government.
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