Latest news with #technocrat
Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Times
Mark Carney shows how to do centrist patriotism
The odds were always against the new centre-left PM running a popular government. He might have had a big election win, but could a technocrat ever hope to prosper in an age of populist anger over borders and national identity? He'd never been tested, after all, in a front-of-house leadership role. Yet somehow, he's made a successful start. Polls show the PM is by some distance the most popular politician in the country. Voters approve of his shift to the centre, most recently seen in a decision to end government funding for hotel rooms for asylum seekers. Overall then, Mark Carney can be quietly satisfied with his first months in office as Canada's premier. He might also be able to give Keir Starmer a few tips. On a recent trip to Ontario, I was reminded of how much Carney and Starmer have in common — and how differently they have approached their late-life moves into electoral politics. After a postgraduate degree at Oxford, Starmer became a successful KC before running the Crown Prosecution Service; he became an MP at 52 and PM at 62. After a postgraduate degree at Oxford, Carney became a Goldman Sachs banker before running the central banks of Canada and the UK; he started his first job in politics — prime minister — two days before he turned 60. Both men are essentially technocrats; sensible managers who see politics as being about improving systems and processes rather than arousing passions or channelling emotions. Some of the populist backlash against establishment politics can be blamed on such clever political types who know better than the great unwashed what is in their nation's best interest. I say this as someone who used to run a Westminster think tank dreaming up clever ideas for centrist politicians. Immigration is the best illustration of this, and also where Carney's approach has been so interesting. For years, the technocrat consensus held that liberal immigration policies were in rich nations' best interests, lubricating labour markets and raising productivity. Opposition to this was something to ignore or manage — because the people complaining did so out of social prejudice or economic ignorance. Canada, with vast territory and a long history of liberalism on migration, would appear to be an unlikely place to embrace the politics of border control. And Carney, who has a PhD in economics, is an unlikely champion of such politics. Yet there is growing public unease about rapid population growth and the number of asylum seekers — Canada has roughly twice as many claimants per capita as Britain. Much as British public concern about migration has been rising again, a majority of Canadians now believe immigration levels are too high. Carney has responded decisively, and not just by ending federal funding for asylum hotels. His Strong Borders Act would give the government significant new powers to stop people entering or remaining in the country, most notably by denying refugee hearings to asylum seekers who have been in Canada for more than a year. This has outraged liberal activists but won him support elsewhere. The right-leaning Globe and Mail recently praised Carney for ditching the liberalism of his predecessor, Justin Trudeau, a leader so unpopular that bumper stickers insulting him can still be seen even in metropolitan Toronto. Other Carney policies appealing to Canadian conservatives include personal income tax cuts, higher defence spending and promises to sack underperforming top bureaucrats. All this comes wrapped in red and white. Canada in 2025 is a country of new flagpoles. The Maple Leaf flag is everywhere. Any business that can do so advertises itself as Canadian-owned, distinct from US competitors. Donald Trump has transformed Canadian politics with his alarming talk of making Canada the 51st state. That's allowed Carney to surf a wave of polite Canadian nationalism, but we shouldn't underestimate the agility that requires; as the polls show, Carney's response to growing public focus on the nation-state, national boundaries and the national interest has been more deft than Starmer's. International comparisons are easy to overstate and there are obvious and big differences between what faces Carney and Starmer. Carney is lucky that the populist challenger he faces is a foreign one. Starmer's populist adversary is very much a domestic one, Nigel Farage in his Union Jack socks. Such symbols are easy to dismiss, especially for the British left. There is still truth in George Orwell's observation that 'in left-wing circles it is always felt that there is something slightly disgraceful in being an Englishman'. If Carney is winning, it is because he has unashamedly wrapped himself in the flag. The Canadian writer Stephen Maher marvels at the way a globe-trotting banker has repackaged himself as 'Captain Canada'. To play that role convincingly, he had to understand that nations and their trappings still matter in a globalised world. Here, Carney was ahead of the centrist pack, writing in a 2021 memoir-cum-manifesto about liberal politics' need to embrace national identity, hailing patriotism as a force for good and calling for societies to retain 'common values'. Starmer has advisers who understand the power of patriotism well, but none has ever persuaded him to embrace it fully. If the PM finds himself looking across the Atlantic with envy at Mark Carney's surprising success, he should reflect that it is not just possible for sensible centrists to wrap themselves in the flag, but necessary too.
New York Times
10-08-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Key Takeaways From The Times's Reporting on Putin's Powerful Aide
When you dig into how the Kremlin wields power, one name comes up over and over: Sergei V. Kiriyenko. Mr. Kiriyenko, 63, is a first deputy chief of staff to President Vladimir V. Putin. The modest title belies enormous influence. He is the key figure who tightened Mr. Putin's grip on Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, even though Mr. Kiriyenko was once known as a Western-oriented reformer. Here are the key takeaways from our yearlong reporting on Mr. Kiriyenko, based on interviews with more than a dozen former colleagues and other Russians who know him, as well as with Western officials. A Consummate Technocrat Mr. Kiriyenko's importance to Mr. Putin is as one of his most effective and versatile 'technocrats.' These men and women are an underappreciated reason Mr. Putin has been able to rule for a quarter-century. Younger and more internationally minded than the K.G.B.-era figures closest to Mr. Putin, the technocrats have become proficient in managing Russia's finances, social programs, health system, infrastructure and many other crucial functions. Mr. Kiriyenko ran Russia's state nuclear energy conglomerate for a decade, modernizing it with Japanese management principles and expanding its footprint with global deals. Since 2016, he has managed Russia's domestic politics, including overseeing regional governments, picking the Kremlin's favored candidates for Parliament and helping coordinate a crackdown on dissent. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Free Malaysia Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Next economy minister should be a technocrat, says economist
Economist Geoffrey Williams said finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan (left) is an example of a strong technocrat leader, while former EPF chief strategy officer Nurhisham Hussein is an ideal candidate for the post of economy minister. PETALING JAYA : The post of economy minister should be filled by a technocrat instead of a career politician once Rafizi Ramli's resignation takes effect on June 17, an economist said. Geoffrey Williams said that as the ministry was responsible for devising policies and not implementing them, its head should be able to provide technical economic insight. 'They need to be good at identifying strategic reform priorities and to motivate the need for reform. 'They also need to oversee the design of these policies, and ensure they are feasible for implementation,' he told FMT. Earlier today, Rafizi announced his resignation as economy minister following his recent loss of PKR's deputy presidency in the party polls to Nurul Izzah Anwar. Williams said the future economy minister should not be 'bogged down in politics', as it would cause the ministry to fail in the execution of its function from the outset. 'If it is headed by a charismatic and ambitious politician, it will be used to push career agendas rather than necessary long-term reforms. 'This will damage both the policy design process and the government's credibility, because all reforms will be driven by personal and political agendas,' he said. Williams pointed to the 'successful' appointment of Amir Hamzah Azizan as finance minister II as an example of a strong and largely apolitical technocrat leader. He suggested that Nurhisham Hussein, the senior director of economics and finance in the Prime Minister's Office, would make an ideal candidate. 'He has a strong economic background and a detailed knowledge of policy implementation and how to navigate administrative hurdles,' he said. However, Akademi Nusantara's Azmi Hassan pointed out that appointing technocrats such as Amir would require them to first be appointed as a senator. 'I'm not sure if there's any vacancy for senators except for (investment, trade and industry minister) Tengku Zafrul Aziz's, as his Senate term ends in December,' he said.
