Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpas

On to the early Eurostar and, to get my head into French as I prepare for a mass of interviews to promote my novel, 'Tout est dans la Tete,' I picked up Le Monde.  First stop a G20 twelve-page pull out, a reminder of the scale and the challenge of the London Summit. Dotted around the place are little interviews with people in different parts of the world saying what they want from the summit, beyond the obvious - like the rescue of the global economy, a new financial architecture and millions of jobs. So there is the Catholic charity worker saying it is about protecting the poor. The Russian economist and the Turkish business leader saying it is all about resisting protectionism. The businessman saying this must be the moment Europe and the US come together. Another echoing President Sarkozy's call for a global financial regulator. Another saying the G20 must usher in a fairer capitalism. An executive from Ecobank saying Africa must not be forgotten. A Brazilian fruit and veg trader calling for an overhaul of global agriculural pricing. And a rather menacing one from an American carworkers' union official saying they helped get Barack Obama elected and the new President is there to 'defend our interests.' Then there's a country by country analysis of what the leaders are hoping for, and whilst there may be greater convergence than above - they all want to agree moves to strengthen the global economy - this is clearly going to be a Summit where genuine big differences will emerge. There is in the world of Summitry a place called Sherpaland, and it is fitting that the term applied to those who prepare the ground for the leaders is best known in relation to climbing Everest. The sherpas will have been flying in and out of each other's capitals to test positions, work out limits for room for manoeuvre and establish where the strongest alliances can be made. The British sherpas, as eyes and ears for the host, Gordon Brown, have the toughest job of all. But every leader and every delegation will be hoovering up info about the others' positions any which way they can find it in the next two or three sleep-deprived days. I know it is easier said than done, but from now on in, GB has to try to shut out all the noise outside - and there will be plenty - ignore every headline and every bulletin - and just focus on getting the job done. He knows the arguments - his own and everyone else's - inside out. The downside is there are lots of differences between the twenty leaders. The upside is that all of them want to leave London able to say the meeting left hopes of recovery in a better place. The sherpas have done their work. With his pre-summit globe-trotting, GB did a fair bit of the sherpa work himself. Now real leadership -bringing people together around shared goals, principles and then detailed policy prescriptions - has to kick in. Easy said when all I have to do in the next few days is talk in French about my novel. But having been through a few of these big Summits alongside TB, I think as a general rule, the louder the noise outside, the more you need to rely on your own k nowledge, experience and instinct. And a bit of luck will come in handy too. So bonne chance.