Having interviewed Mark Carney when he was Bank of England, I believe he does have the ability to outsmart President Trump – but he certainly has a job on his hands
As new Canadian PM Mark Carney squares up to Donald Trump, much will be made of how the two leaders compare.
On the face of it they couldn’t be more different: one a suave former central banker who has chosen his words carefully until now, the other a brash businessman who says exactly what he thinks, whatever the consequences.
As it happens, the two do have a few things in common. Both were political novices before achieving high office.
And, on a lighter note, both have experience of TV shows. But while Trump is famed for TV’s the Apprentice, Carney, unknown-to-most, appeared with his high school team in a University Challenge-style TV quiz in 1982. Carney’s team lost, apparently slipping up on their German language and not knowing who cartoon character Snoopy’s bird friend was.
During his time as Bank of England Governor, I met Carney one-on-one and attended numerous press conferences where he was quizzed on interest rates, the state of the UK and global economy and much else besides.
What came across loud and clear was his intense intellect and eye for detail, delivered without flamboyance but with a charm and at a times a smile that would win over his audience. And with his good looks and sharp suits, he was poles apart from your typical central banker.
Where he was, frustratingly, all too similar was being reluctant to call a spade a spade. It goes with the territory – an off hand comment by a bank Government – risks causing market panic. But I am really hoping that Carney’s move into mainstream politics will see him ditch the gobbledygook for good and his takes on the most blunt talking US President in history.
One former college friend once told me of Carney: “He was a great student. I just remember him being a nice guy, a very humble guy, everyone really liked him in the neighbourhood and all the girls probably had crushes on him.”
He was also a star basketball player but his great passion was ice hockey, and he dreamed of becoming a professional. Carney cited his country’s national sport, as he declared: “Americans should make no mistake. In trade, as in hockey, Canada will win.”
How this former bean counter in chief takes on America’s commander in chief will be fascinating.