Well, well, blogging is all about keeping the ball rolling and I failed miserably since my last entry. Sorry, sorry, boss, but there was a problem … ;-)
In fact, what I just want to post is a great encounter I’ve had at a YEO-Event in Chennai one weekend back where we had the honor to have (one week back still) India’s Union Minister for Petrol and Natural Gas Mr. Mani Shankar Ayer as a guest speaker. I have never met a person whom I found intellectually as brilliant as much as I disagreed with his political recipes. A self-declared socialist, author and columnist and Cambridge-Alumnus, had made a fantastic account on the political culture in India putting emphasis on his biggest concern: alleviating poverty of 700 mn people in India. So far, so good, I am totally with him.
However, his approach as a staunch advocate of the Panchayati Raj is geared to providing more public goods on the local level and thus increasing the public sector. Fore me in turn, as a declared proponent of markets, this solution will necessarily keep the poor in India forever arrested in the role of consumers at best and of donation receivers at worst. I believe way more in concepts which C.K. Prahalad has put forward in “The Bottom of the Pyramid – eradicating poverty through markets” where the poor in India would gradually grow into a role of both indispensable producers and knowledgeable consumers. In my option, a much more sustainable way of addressing the issue. I made my point clear to Mr. Aiyer, who took it with respect and humor saying: “I actually don’t like people who agree with me.” And at dinner we were “friends” again, see the evidence of the picture.
He told me about his travel to Germany, how much he liked the county and where he met Gesine Schwan who was running for President of Germany (and later lost against Horst Köhler). He insisted of meeting Hertha Däubler-Gmelin, a former Federal Minister of Justice who had been ousted due to her critical remarks of Bush which could have been interpreted as a comparison with Hitler. According to Mr. Ayer for that she would have deserved the Peace Nobel Prize. He remarked to her that she really must hate Bush to say something like that. She allegedly replied :”I have never hated Bush. But Chancellor Schröder dropped me like a hot potato. For that, I now hate Schröder”. Funny, what a German can learn about politics of his home country when traveling to South India …
Unfortunately, two days later, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed Mr. Ayer for another person running the Petroleum-ministry.
Unfortunately, two days later, India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh dismissed Mr. Ayer for another person running the Petroleum-ministry.
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