Old Dubya has decided that although his presidential legacy will be forever about going to wars with Iraq and Afghanistan yielding decidedly mixed results, and presiding over a worldwide recession created by US banks on his watch, he most certainly didn’t want to be remembered for being at the helm when the motor industry in the land of the free crashed and burned. It is not really any great surprise that he has finally succeeded in pushing through the $17bn bailout of Detroit’s 3 stooges.
The good and perhaps surprising thing however is that the package is not without strings and these companies will be under severe pressure to modernise not only their cars and production processes but also their commitment to produce more eco-friendly cars and stop wasting money in producing totally awful cars whilst being at the mercy of the too powerful auto union workers. The unions must surely by now concede and work together to rescue the companies from the mess they are in. They must wake up, smell the coffee and stop living in ‘Car-la land’!
If the UK government follow suit and let’s face it they appear to fall in line with most decisions that the White House make then it won’t come a moment too soon for our beleaguered companies. The difference here is that our car industry is actually worth saving even if it is predominantly foreign owned, these companies have still committed to the country and should therefore receive help to steer us through stormy waters.
Over to you Mr.Mandelson!