by MONITOR
WHAT fun! If President Sarkozy of France does not get his way over global financial regulation at tomorrow's G20 meeting he may walk out. Questioned about the likelihood of this happening, an aide said: A basic rule with nuclear deterrence is that you do not say at what point you will use the weapon. Although there seems to be general agreement on the need for stricter regulation that takes into account the global nature of much of today's financial dealing, M. Sarkozy is probably alone among major powers in wanting a single global regulator to supervise the world.
The French President has been unusually quiet in recent weeks but may now have found the issue on which he regains some of his dwindling support at home by facing down les Anglo-Saxons. It would not be surprising if he were frustrated by the way in which the initiative on economic reform has been taken out of his hands. Initially he wanted to remain in a special role in the EU to continue the work he had done as President in the second part of last year. He then rushed to the United Nations and to Washington to propose the meeting which will take place in London tomorrow. How the British trumped his idea is a tale that has yet to be told. But a walk-out is unlikely. One certain outcome of tomorrow's conference will be more follow-up conferences - and Paris is always a popular location for them.