G8 summit: Reasons not to be cheerful

When leaders of the world's richest nations gather for the G8 summit amid the volcanoes and forests of northern Japan, they might be tempted to compare their political woes. The presidents and prime ministers who will arrive at Lake Toya on the island of Hokkaido are, almost without exception, on the brink of leaving office or beset by domestic trouble. At a time when the global economy faces turmoil, the world has rarely witnessed such a bedraggled collection of crippled leaders. President George W Bush, the G8's foremost member, is only six months away from leaving office and might suffice as a textbook definition of a lame duck. Gordon Brown, facing terrible opinion polls two years before a general election, might not be lame but is certainly hobbled. When these men greet their colleagues around the table at the Lake Toya... [read full story]