[LINK] "Harper's puzzling overture"

[rfmcdonald]

Back on Friday, at the Globe and Mail's special G20 blog, Kevin Carmichael asked the question of why Prime Minister Harper is trying to get the Netherlands invited to the G20 summit when there are already too many Europeans present.

[T]he G20 as currently structured is an imperfect collection of countries. Argentina is in the group in large part because it was the locus of much of the financial panic that led to the G20’s creation as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors in the late 1990’s. That, and the fact that regional rivalries keep Portuguese-speaking Brazil from being a true spokesperson for Latin America. If the G20 was being created today, Chile, which recently gained entry to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, might stand a better chance of making the cut.

Regional rivalries also undermine South Africa as a voice for all of Africa. Yet the country is the only African nation in the G20, highlighting the most glaring flaw in the group’s current makeup.

But as just about every international-governance thinker would tell you, the last thing the G20 process needs is more Europeans around the table. This isn’t because European officials don’t have anything to offer. It’s because of the symbolism. Europe is already over-represented at international institutions. Adding more countries to the mix when you the option not to only sends a signal to emerging markets that the old order is unwilling to share the reigns.

The Netherlands happens to a perfect example of the problem. The country's economy represents barely 1 per cent of the world's gross domestic product based on purchasing power parity. Yet because of its relative economic clout when the International Monetary Fund was founded after the Second World War, the Netherlands has more voting shares than India, Brazil and South Korea.

By the way, if I'd add a European country to the G20 summit it would be Poland, the largest of the post-Communist economies after Russia, easily one of the most dynamic, and the motor behind a country of increasing heft in Europe.