Experts are digesting the G20’s “historic” trillion-dollar bid to pull the world out of recession after Gordon Brown hailed the creation of a “new world order”.
After two days of intense talks with his fellow leaders, the PM claimed victory, saying: “This is the day the world came together to fight back against the global recession, not with words but a plan for global recovery and reform.
“The decisions, of course, will not immediately solve the crisis, but we have begun the process by which it will be solved.”
US President Barack Obama was effusive in his praise for Mr Brown’s chairmanship, and branded the outcome “a turning point in our pursuit of global economic recovery”.
There had been fears of tensions with French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel. In the event, both proclaimed themselves satisfied, having secured tough curbs on tax havens and hedge funds.
Mr Sarkozy said “a page has been turned” on the “Anglo Saxon” financial model, while Mrs Merkel said it represented “a very, very good, almost historic compromise”. But there were no firm commitments to a new fiscal stimulus – which many believed Mr Brown and Mr Obama were hoping for.
