by Marie-Hélène Caillol (extract MAP edito november 2011)
The “three tips to the G20 leaders” following this editorial are a perfect illustration of the GEAB slogan “To anticipate is to foresee in order to act.” These “three tips” are in fact the result of careful consideration of six years work by LEAP on the global crisis, work that has attracted respect and credibility due only to its quality and relevance unreservedly recognized around the world. In 2009, the significance of this patient anticipation work enabled LEAP to issue, ahead of the London summit, “three tips to the G20 leaders” that received full page coverage in the Financial Times International Edition.
Today, it’s no longer certain that the Financial Times - or any other major media moreover- is the best base from which to circulate these ideas, or where we want, i.e. at the highest level. Our own network tools (GEAB, Press Reviews, MAP, impromptu internet traffic, etc ...), putting us in contact with hundreds of thousands of people in countries worldwide and in dozens of languages (since, in addition to our own translations in four languages, our publications are regularly the subject of impromptu translations on the internet), are probably more relevant in this regard.
All the more so since we have matched the classical circulation of the message to the G20 leaders with a pro-active approach of systematic meetings with the advisors in charge of the next summit in Cannes in the 20 capitals and their embassies in France, especially, of course, those involved in the preparation of the briefing files for the next summit in Cannes. The “three tips” that you will read here have thus circulated at almost decision-making level in the 20 largest countries of the world. The welcome we received during these meetings was most cordial, the discussions arising from them the most open, and the approach which one might have feared as seeming arrogant, was actually well accepted, understood and welcomed. We have been clear on the fact that these tips are not (in fact no longer, because they were in our release in the Financial Times in 2009) so innovative as that. For example, the idea of a basket of currencies to replace the dollar as the sole pillar of the international monetary system
is now the subject of statements by this and that decision maker on a regular basis. That said, these ideas have not yet jumped the hurdle of international summits’ official proceedings. They are still, from a diplomatic point of view, taboo ideas. The whole of the old system led by the Anglo-Saxons, is buttressed to prevent them being discussed whilst they are central to resolving the current crisis. As long as our leaders won’t address these issues at their summits in front of everyone, the crisis will only increase in intensity. Conversely, it would be sufficient to refer to them so that a virtuous circle to resolve the crisis can begin.
