…the first person to mention the IMF and World Bank is the Chair of the Federal Reserve of the United States – this in hour three of a meeting involving the Prime Minister, the Minister of Finance, the Deputy Minister of Finance, the President of the Treasury Board, the Governor of the Bank of Canada and the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada.
Alan Greenspan Al Weinstock assumes no one from the Reform PC government hasn't been in touch with either organization (they haven't), and that they don't have their phone numbers (they don't).
Idiots.
Q: Why is it that the Canadian Prime Minister never calls the Japanese Prime Minister?
a) Because he's an idiot.
b) Because he wants to use the crisis to kill the CBC.
c) Because he thinks the Emperor of Japan heads the government.
d) Because he doesn't have the phone number.
e) All of the above.
A: e
Ha! The book's political (and economic) logic cancels itself out pretty early on. Why would Japan sabotage a Reform/PC government the day it takes office? Presumably it would be a pro-business administration, or would at least have run as one. I guess you could make the book make sense by having the Japanese crash Canada's economy because they don't like some made up bunch of free-spending bleeding heart NDP types. That could trigger a crisis and election and the Reform party could come in an impose austerity. But that would take too long. We're late for the slide show already.
ReplyDeleteWhat did the PM run on? His nice hair?
Death by Deficit is also a pretty lousy and inaccurate title. It should be called something like An Exciting Opportunity to Stop Governing.
ReplyDeleteAt very least, it should've been Death by Debt.
DeleteJohn Glassco's first collection of verse The Deficit Made Flesh. I leave the rest to you and Rohmer's ribald imagination.
Maybe we have to consider this is an alternate history novel - one where Eric Malling is more informed that the governments of both the US and Canada.
ReplyDeleteSay - for all the talking up of Malling and running down of the CBC, it's worth noting that he hosted the Fifth Estate for the CBC for 4 times longer than he was with W5 and CTV.
It really is killing me: Who's the CBC reporter Rohmer hates?
ReplyDeleteI've been wracking my brain. Is his beery breath a clue? 'Reporters Who Drink' hardly narrows the field.
DeleteWho was in the Parliamentary Press Gallery back then? Does Rohmer even know it exists? Probably not. He somehow thinks the RCMP is in charge of security in the Centre Block. I mean it is now, since last month, but it wasn't then. By which I mean the future then, when Charles III sat on the throne.
Perhaps I'm being unfair.
Maybe it's not someone who crossed him personally. Just someone he hated on TV. Like the Friendly Giant.
ReplyDelete