UNITED STATES
Running out of cash
Time for America to pay its bills, with the new Republican-controlled Congress holding the purse strings in this critical fiscal month. On 4th March the federal government will run out of money unless Congress passes a bill voting for more. A few weeks after that, it will reach the federal debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion (£8.7. trillion) unless, again, Congress votes to increase it. Failure to do so would reduce the rating of US government bonds and would, according to treasury secretary Tim Geithner (above), have “catastrophic economic consequences.”
FRANCE
Chirac on trial for corruption
In a trial due to begin on 7th March in Paris, former French President Jacques Chirac faces two separate charges of corruption relating to his mayoralty of Paris from 1977 to 1995. Chirac has long been dogged by allegations of breach of trust and embezzlement, and could face a ten-year prison sentence and a €150,000 fine if found guilty. Having lost immunity from prosecution since leaving the office of president in 2007, Chirac will be the country’s first former head of state to face criminal charges since the founding of the Fifth Republic over half a century ago. AFGHANISTAN
Time for transition?
On 23rd March the UN security council will meet in New York to renew the mandate for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which sets out to help Kabul build a stable economy and government. President Hamid Karzai recently criticised foreign development teams for undermining the authority of his government, and on 21st March—the Afghan new year—he will reveal details of the first phase of transition, with Afghan troops taking over some security and services from Nato.
GERMANY
Worries for Merkel and friends
With exports surging and impressive growth, Germany has emerged from the financial crisis as Europe’s economic class swot. Yet elections in seven key German states this year could destabilise Angela Merkel’s fragile coalition and dent her authority. The most important contest is on 27th March in Baden-Württemberg, a region her Christian Democrats have ruled since 1953 and will be desperate to hold. But the stakes may be higher for the junior coalition partner, the liberal Free Democratic party, which has slumped in the polls. Bad results could threaten the position of Guido Westerwelle, foreign minister and Free Democrat chairman.
CHINA
The next five-year plan The Twelfth National People’s Congress will convene on 5th March in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Around 3,000 delegates from around the country will rubber-stamp the draft “five year plan” released last autumn by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. The plan has been traditionally used to signal how China’s leaders would like the country to develop—even if it does not oblige. The current draft sets out investments in nuclear power, high-speed rail and wireless. The new plan aims at “inclusive growth”—to transform China’s growth from exports to domestic consumption.
Running out of cash
Time for America to pay its bills, with the new Republican-controlled Congress holding the purse strings in this critical fiscal month. On 4th March the federal government will run out of money unless Congress passes a bill voting for more. A few weeks after that, it will reach the federal debt ceiling of $14.3 trillion (£8.7. trillion) unless, again, Congress votes to increase it. Failure to do so would reduce the rating of US government bonds and would, according to treasury secretary Tim Geithner (above), have “catastrophic economic consequences.”
FRANCE
Chirac on trial for corruption
In a trial due to begin on 7th March in Paris, former French President Jacques Chirac faces two separate charges of corruption relating to his mayoralty of Paris from 1977 to 1995. Chirac has long been dogged by allegations of breach of trust and embezzlement, and could face a ten-year prison sentence and a €150,000 fine if found guilty. Having lost immunity from prosecution since leaving the office of president in 2007, Chirac will be the country’s first former head of state to face criminal charges since the founding of the Fifth Republic over half a century ago. AFGHANISTAN
Time for transition?
On 23rd March the UN security council will meet in New York to renew the mandate for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, which sets out to help Kabul build a stable economy and government. President Hamid Karzai recently criticised foreign development teams for undermining the authority of his government, and on 21st March—the Afghan new year—he will reveal details of the first phase of transition, with Afghan troops taking over some security and services from Nato.
GERMANY
Worries for Merkel and friends
With exports surging and impressive growth, Germany has emerged from the financial crisis as Europe’s economic class swot. Yet elections in seven key German states this year could destabilise Angela Merkel’s fragile coalition and dent her authority. The most important contest is on 27th March in Baden-Württemberg, a region her Christian Democrats have ruled since 1953 and will be desperate to hold. But the stakes may be higher for the junior coalition partner, the liberal Free Democratic party, which has slumped in the polls. Bad results could threaten the position of Guido Westerwelle, foreign minister and Free Democrat chairman.
CHINA
The next five-year plan The Twelfth National People’s Congress will convene on 5th March in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Around 3,000 delegates from around the country will rubber-stamp the draft “five year plan” released last autumn by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. The plan has been traditionally used to signal how China’s leaders would like the country to develop—even if it does not oblige. The current draft sets out investments in nuclear power, high-speed rail and wireless. The new plan aims at “inclusive growth”—to transform China’s growth from exports to domestic consumption.
