FIRST AMONG THE WORST
Euromoney's annual wooden spoon award is based on one simple accomplishment. It goes to the man who has done the most to harm his country's economy. There's usually no shortage of candidates. The men responsible for economic policy in Yugoslavia, Morocco, Australia, even Malaysia were all strong contenders this year. But the view of most bankers consulted by Euromoney is that in 1986 the least popular minister is Egypt's Sultan Abu Ali.
Who? You might well ask. Even in Egypt his name stirs few signs of recognition. The country's Minister for the Economy and Foreign Trade is but one of half a dozen people with a say in the way the Egyptian economy is run. Among those involved are the country's almost invisible Finance Minister, Salah Hamed, the Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Kamal el-Ganzouri, the Prime Minister, Ali Lufti and the central bank governor, Ali Negm. Egypt's President, Hosni Mubarak, and the powerful Defence Minister, Field Marshal Abdel Halim Abu Ghazala, have also had a hand in debt negotiations.
The fragemented nature of this team has led to vital lapses in consultation, with individual minister making pronouncements on such crucial issues as exchange rates, industrial policy and debt repayment without much reference to what others are saying or doing.