Browned Off - City Workers Rejoice At Government's Discomfort

Oh happy days! The near-collapse of UK prime minister Gordon Brown's government was the edifying talk of most dealing rooms last week. 'Oops, there goes the neighbourhood', we all chortled as yet another minister resigns, sticking yet another dagger into of poor Gordo's back for all to see.

But all this political turmoil got me thinking that it's worth reflecting on just how far we've come in the City / Banker blame game stakes. Remember, it was only a few months ago that most everyone wanted to kick a banker and put the blame for the world's economic and financial ills firmly at our feet (it was only a few weeks back that I went out to roam the City streets in genuine fear at the time of the G20 protests, nervous that I would be set-on by the great unwashed). But the public's view of who is to blame for our economic catastrophe has now switched back to the politicians (and primarily to Gordon Brown), since the subject of MPs' expenses hit the media headlines courtesy of the Daily Torygraph.

But what does this tell us ? Well, for one thing it tells us that the mob is indeed fickle, and its anger can quickly move from one part of society to another; I'm not suggesting that investment bankers like me are met with open arms at the pub theses days (unless we buy all the drinks), but there is a genuine realisation that many of our problems really do spring from our political leaders - those that left the so called 'light touch'  regulations in place, which in turn led to many appalling short term lending decisions, structured mortgage trades and all the rest. 

Anyway, we saw last week the first concrete manifestation of public anger at this government courtesy of the local and European elections. But we will probably have to wait till next May for the big one, as the coming General Election will be unprecedented in terms of how it changes the political landscape. And how will all this leave the City ? Well, it will probably mean that we will get back to being ignored (until our next scandal). As the recession continues, and as more political escapades and intrigues emerge in the coming months, the focus will firmly be on Westminster. And that's a good thing. Let those MPs pay a heavy price for claiming for their bath-plugs! Us bankers will go back to the 'honest' trade of making money, and oiling the wheels of capitalism - and that's no joke (unlike our government !)'.