A little less conversation

Waffling G20 still best hope for global economy

Despite its waffling, the G20 is still the best hope for the global economy. The gathering of top 20 nations proved its worth during the financial crisis, helping to coordinate an international response. But finance ministers at the latest Washington meeting worry the group has succumbed to mission creep and verbosity. A functional G20 is vital for a smooth transition as economic power shifts from rich to emerging nations.

With no immediate crisis to discuss, the G20 finance chiefs sought to address the shortcomings of the group itself. South Korea's delegation was most forthright, saying reforms were needed. Among the complaints voiced by officials was that the coterie had lost its focus, with countries inserting pet topics onto the agenda. Talks have recently ambled from climate change to youth unemployment. One result has been unnecessarily prolix communiques, which topped 4,000 words at the July meeting in Moscow.

In an ideal world, the streamlining called for by Korea could be aided by shedding a few superfluous members - notably Argentina. Diplomatic etiquette makes this impossible. Still, much can be done to keep the G20 from losing clout.

Already in Washington there was an effort to tighten up, starting with an unusually brief communique. More can be done to create a leaner G20. The gathering has a potentially valuable role to play in easing tensions as the world adjusts to the increasing heft of China, India and others. To be effective the G20 could focus its talks more narrowly on questions of global monetary policy, capital flows, trade and intellectual property.

Despite a couple of aimless years, the G20 is still the best forum for collaboration on such issues. Unlike the more elitist G7, it encompasses two-thirds of the global population and the fastest growing nations like China. At the same time it is still far easier to reach consensus than at full meetings of the International Monetary Fund, which has 188 members with which to contend.

Even if the G20 is allowed to drift, it is still capable of being shocked back into life by a full-blown financial crisis. With plenty of chronic global problems to resolve, though, it would be a shame to see the considerable potential of the G20 go to waste.