J. Rubber Chicken
WHEN J. Adair Turner worked for McK- insey, people used to pay for his advice. Now he is making it freely available, it is becoming a drug on the market. I could feel sorry for him if he showed signs of feeling sorry for himself. Translated from the backstage life of a consultant and shoved out in front as the Confederation of British Industry's director-general, he believes that in his new role he must deliv- er speeches. So he does. On the rubber chicken circuit, he is now a standing dish. This week he gave the Patrick Hutber lec- ture (although Hutber, as a City editor, was more of a red-meat man) and was all for free trade. Last week he spoke on Europe and derided 'Little Englanders', which, as he may or may not have known, was Joe Chamberlain's term of abuse for free traders. This suggests where he comes from in the reasoned debate which, as he keeps saying, is what we need on the subject of a European single currency. I thought that this debate had been going on for years every so often I jump up and join in — but by the standards of a McKinsey presenta- tion all this may not count as reasoned. Any day now I expect his opinion of Europe's exchange rate mechanism, which the Irish are planning to revive as a part of their contribution to the presidency. When we were in it last time the CBI was all in favour, and could not make out why so many of its member firms were going bust. Its director-general would do it and the rest of us a service if he gave himself a break from opining and applied his well-trained mind to working out what he and indeed the CBI are there for. If he gets stuck he can always call in McKinsey.
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