Brown is in Saudi Arabia to lobby its government over the world's oil crisis and try to sell-off our nuclear power industry. One of the few things we have left to sell.
This modern day Faust, is hoping to persuade the Saudis to increase oil production to bring down the soaring cost of oil. But the Saudis will want something in return.
They will want the UK to make it even easier for them to invest their Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) in the UK. To buy into the only UK companies we have left to sell, including our strategic and highly sensitive nuclear power industry.
You can't blame the Saudis. They are businessmen. They will only produce more oil if it is in their interests to do so.
Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are the government investment funds of countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. Saudi Arabia is planning around £500 billion, making it the biggest in the world.
Some countries are worried that these governments could use their vast wealth to buy up key assets or exert political pressure. But that doesn't seem to worry Brown.
Interestingly, there's only one SWF in the West and it has decided to make ethical political judgements about the companies it invests in.
Our north European neighbour, Norway, invests all its North Sea gas and oil revenue in a £200 billion pension fund for the old age of its people.
Why didn't we think of that? Oh yes, of course, Brown sold off most of our gold reserves and raided the pension funds to prop up the ailing economy.
Now apparently he's going to make it even easier for the Saudis to use their huge Sovereign Wealth Fund to buy up what's left to sell in the UK, including our most sensitive, secret and strategic nuclear power industry. Very Faustian.
If we had a Sovereign Wealth Fund like Norway, then Brown wouldn't have to run cap in hand to the Saudis.
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