Darling, darling, darling...

by Catherine Woods - Monday, 1st September 2008 - - Business comment

God bless Alistair Darling, eh? He really knows how to bring cheer to the nation as we open the weekend papers while tucking into our cereal and toast.

In a rare interview in Saturday’s Guardian, Darling revealed that Britain is facing “arguably the worst” economic times in 60 years. “And I think it's going to be more profound and long-lasting than people thought,” he said.

Cue: predictable panic.

The Scotsman breathlessly suggested that “Darling’s candour highlights leadership woes”.

The FTSE 100 has slumped today and sterling also dropped in response to the comments (although the latter has reportedly lifted following a Financial Times editorial rightly stating that Darling’s comments were taken out of context by some media outlets).

Still, the fact remains that the Chancellor's warning is rather stark.

Was he right to be so honest? Did he really need to verbalise what we already know?

It’s patently clear the economy is tanking and things are getting a little rough. We read about it all the time in the papers – too many stories seem to make some sort of reference to the "credit crunch" or "economic uncertainty" (this article is a case in point).

But you no doubt see evidence of the perilous situation we're facing every day when you open up for business.

Is it helpful to be told yet again that the economy's rubbish at the moment? Shouldn't the government be focusing on maintaining confidence?

Is Darling a clod or a champion? Idiotic or inspired? Ruinous or realistic?

Let us know what you think.

Picture source

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