Mark Carney’s decision to stay on as Bank of England Governor until 2019 has been widely welcomed. But not everyone is happy about the news. The Daily Mail accuses Carney of being a ‘posturing governor’ and says the staging of his announcement yesterday was in line with much of his conduct: ‘designed to generate maximum publicity’. The paper says that while some were concerned at the possibility of uncertainty in the markets if he’d walked away, would it be any worse than ‘his relentless doom-mongering’? The Mail suggests Carney will be forever tainted by his conduct during the referendum, which it says was at its worst when he joined in with George Osborne’s ‘Project Fear’ and opted to wade into a Brexit debate which he should have stayed well out of. It also attacks him for trying to take credit for Britain’s economic resilience. Finally, the paper says, it would be better if he took a leaf out of his predecessor Mervyn King’s book: ‘In short: say less, stop politicising your office and for goodness sake start talking Britain up!’. While the Mail has taken something of a cheerleading role of the Government since Theresa May took office, it’s clear that warm reception doesn’t extend to Carney. We can expect to read plenty of attacks on Carney in the Mail over the weeks and months ahead.
There’s a (slightly) more optimistic assessment of Mark Carney in The Sun. Admittedly, the paper does call him ‘Eeyore’ and confess that it’s given him some ‘stick’ – but the Sun’s editorial says it’s ‘not sorry he’s opted to stay’. It joins the Mail’s line of attack against Carney though, accusing the Canadian of beating the Project Fear drum. And the paper also goes a step further, saying his doom mongering didn’t stop after June 24th: ’Even now’ the Sun says, Carney ‘dismally predicts that mid-2018 will be our ‘darkest days’ following the vote to leave’. Yet despite its criticism, Carney staying until 2019 is good news, the paper insists. The Sun goes on to make it clear that Britain needs ‘stability’ and the governor is the man to provide it. But it warns that he must resist temptation to side with him ‘Remainer chums’ and remember most of all that Britain backed Brexit.
The Daily Telegraph is much more upbeat in its view about Mark Carney’s decision. Yesterday, the paper described the Bank of England chief as an ‘asset’ to Britain – and it hums the same tune in this morning’s editorial. His presence brings much-needed ‘stability’ during a crucial juncture in Britain’s history, the paper says. And the Telegraph points out that in pledging to remain in office until after Britain has (hopefully) left the EU in 2019, Carney is throwing himself in with the Prime Minister to show he’s ‘wholeheartedly’ devoted to the task ahead.
The Times careful balances its assessment of Carney’s time in office so far. The paper says it’s clear Carney has ‘made some errors in office’ – but while it also criticises his conduct during the referendum, the Times is perhaps more scathing of his monetary policies. The Times says ‘his tenure at Threadneedle Street has been dominated by a stubbornly weak pace of recovery’ and that the Bank of England has repeatedly undershot its inflation target: something worth remembering amidst some of his recent doom-mongering about how the referendum will mean the inflation is likely to rise from its current lowly levels. The paper’s critique of Carney doesn’t end there, however; it also says his attempts to implement ‘forward guidance in monetary policy’ proved too rigid and were dropped. But while it’s obvious Carney isn’t infallible, the paper concludes that it’s best for Britain that he has decided to stay put. It takes a different perspective from the rest of Fleet Street in defending Carney for intervening during the referendum, saying the Bank of England boss had a ‘statutory obligation to set out the Bank’s assessment of risk’. Finally, the Times points out that Carney’s biggest asset is his reputation abroad: ‘a quality that Britain needs now and will need more than ever during its departure from the EU’.
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