The middle powers’ troubles

Countries that aren't at the table are on the menu, says Mark Carney

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If there is one sort of person that one would deem extremely unlikely to deliver a bridge-burning speech that sets the world alight, it is a central banker.

This is a profession that has been trained to say as little as possible, only as much as necessary, and as dispassionately as they can.

Mark Carney may currently be Prime Minister of Canada, but he was unquestionably a central banker. Indeed, he was so much a central banker that two different central banks hired him. It was somewhat unexpected, therefore, that he became the star of this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Mr Carney delivered a speech that, while its delivery remained resolutely technocratic, had content that was notably rousing. He spoke of how the rule-based international order was “no longer functioning as advertised”, and how economic coercion was affecting policy decisions across the world. He argued that nations could only afford principle when they had reduced their vulnerabilities to such coercion. He called for diversification in their international outreach. (In response, United States (US) President Donald Trump declared that he is thinking of imposing 100 percent tariffs on Canada, thereby proving Mr Carney’s point.)