There is no denying that the state of the economy is very serious indeed, and that a many people will be facing a great deal of hardship, and most of us will have to tighten our belts considerably. To say that things are desperate is not an exaggeration.
Nevertheless, I can’t understand the negative reaction to Baroness Vadera, the Business Minister’s comment that she’s seen “a few green shoots” of economic recovery. ‘Outrage’ and ‘fury’ as her ‘gaffe’ is ‘condemned’ seems to be the composite headline.
But saying one has observed “a few green shoots” of economic recovery is not the same as saying the lawn is plush and green and ready for Wimbledon.
Her full quote was : “I am seeing a few green shoots, but it’s a little bit too early to say exactly how they’d grow.”
From the reaction, you’d be forgiven for thinking that she’d flatly denied there was any problem at all.
In fact, after all the money the government has funnelled into the economy to prop up the banking and financial sector, aren’t “a few green shoots” in this dry an yellow lawn the very least we should expect?
Shouldn’t we actually be demanding to see these ‘green shoots’ already, not shooting down the first person to express some optimism?
Are we allergic to hope?