Rudd bears witness to new global order as Obama shines on debut ANALYSIS: Matthew Franklin April 03, 2009 Article from: The Australian

THE economy became finally and truly global overnight when the governments of the world admitted it could only be managed by joint action.

No more, they agreed at the meeting of G20 leaders in London, could a single nation act in isolation. The interconnectedness of national economies and the ever-increasing mobility of capital meant there was only one economy that of the globe.

This is why UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown emerged from the summit declaring the birth of a new world order.

"We have resolved that from today we will together manage the process of globalisation," Mr Brown said.

"We have agreed that in doing so we will build a more sustainable and more open and fairer global society."

It was an inevitable conclusion for 20 world leaders struggling with the sudden collapse of global growth sparked by the collapse of sub-prime lending markets in the US last year.

Each came to London burdened by stunted economic growth, and public anger about how lax economic regulation in the US has caused a crisis that has reverberated around the world and, according to the OECD, will leave one in 10 people jobless within a year.

The G20’s short-term response of more than $1.1 trillion in new funding to protect developing nations from the worst of the crisis and boost international trade represents an attempt to prevent the recession becoming a depression.

But it is the long-term action a massive regulatory crackdown on banks and other financial institutions that marks the beginning of something new and an attempt by governments to find a way to keep pace with the pace of global change.

Kevin Rudd will return to Australia satisfied with his performance in London.

The Prime Minister was clearly across the issues and achieved his aim of being seen as an activist leader of a middle power nation with the ambition to punch above its diplomatic weight.

While Mr Rudd is not the father of the new global order, he was in the room when it was delivered.

He also looks to have been proven correct in his ambition to help elevate the G20 to the world’s major international decision-making body, supplanting the less-representative G7 _ of which Australia is not a member.

The other big highlight of the meeting was the stunning diplomatic debut of Barack Obama.

The President seemed calm and assured in his public comments before and after the meeting after having arrived saying he wanted to listen, not lecture.

He will leave with his standing enhanced.