Clegg: G20 summit is no time for playing politics

Speaking ahead of the G20 summit, at an event by Greenpeace, Leader of the Liberal Democrats Nick Clegg will say: "A grand one-day summit cannot alone deliver us out of the global economic crisis."

But its timing, and the expectations raised, means that this week's meeting is of immense psychological importance. People desperately need to see that their leaders are able to work together, take radical decisions, and stick to a plan that offers hope. If not, this summit could become the fateful moment when recession lurches into outright slump.

"What is at stake this week is a great deal more than the particular wording of a one page communiqué. If the G20 fails to convey a sense that there is a route out of the anguish, we face further chaos in the markets and mainstream politics across the developed world will end up in the dock.

"There is a very real prospect that if the G20 does not agree immediate action that re-injects confidence into financial markets there will be yet another dangerous market stampede. The nerves of investors and institutions have already shown themselves to hinge on the certainty provided by governments. Disunity and half-measures could well spark further panic, sending the worlds economy into freefall and raising the spectre of a 1930s style depression.

"But this imposes obligations on opposition politicians too. If people see their politicians willing negotiations to fail so that they can point the finger and score points in some party political blame game, my fear is that the withdrawal from mainstream politics will be wholesale.

"We are at a psychological tipping point. History teaches us that economic meltdown can lead to despair, despair to fury, and fury to violence and extremism. We are on the verge of a profound disengagement from conventional politics. And the space that creates is too easily filled by populism, manipulation and hate.

"It is the responsibility of all politicians to stop this, and that means getting behind the G20 Summit. Of course we must not suspend scrutiny and we must continue unequivocally to speak out for what's right. But we must set aside the shallow wrangling. We cannot afford to undermine the G20; we have to make it work."