Take a good look around you. What do you see? I see corpses. Economic corpses. From America to England, Europe to Asia, the world is strewn by collapsed or collapsing economies under the weight of the worst financial crisis since the 1930s Great Depression. The G20 so-called summit in London ended two weeks ago. Stock markets roared again. Everything looks like becoming hunky-dory again.

Nothing doing. The only things that looks like being back, or continuing, is more hype, and more hubris. That’s all politicians are good for: putting out the spin and the spiel. Newly minted US president Barack ‘Barmy’ Obama included. The G20 communiqué, like all communiqués, are top heavy with rhetoric, barren for details or specifics. It’s the old story. For all his oratorical skills, this time Obama’s tongue failed to wag.