The Reserve Bank Governor appointment is not to be underestimated.
We have never had a foreigner. Well, we have (the first was British) but that was in 1934 and that鈥檚 the sort of thing you would have expected given colonialism.
Obviously, the fact she is female should not be a thing. I think we have seen plenty of examples that essentially woman can, and do, do anything and the more we continue to isolate out appointments on gender, the more we remind ourselves how little in our minds we have moved forward.
But the fact we seem to have attracted what they suggested was a good line up, both numerically and in talent, from offshore is a good tick for this country's reputation.
Anna Breman may well use this as a springboard to big banks, who knows. But moving your family halfway around the world is no small thing and you have to believe that the place you are landing isn't a dump, and you can make a difference.
I don鈥檛 think I'm reading too much into the Willis comments at the press conference when she said Christian Hawkesby had done an admirable job. Admirable... is that glowing? I don鈥檛 think so.
He applied for the job but sadly, given his proximity to Adrian Orr, he didn鈥檛 stand a chance and is now to leave the bank.
That in part may have played a role in someone from outside the joint getting the gig. If you're from Sweden you had nothing to do with what has been a hopeless time for the bank, riddled with incompetence and secrecy.
Breman said our bank is widely and highly regarded. If I take her at her word that's reassuring, but you can equally suggest she would say that, wouldn鈥檛 she?
What I am interested in is whether she can get a grip on the country and its economic culture.
I remain convinced that at least part of the reason the Reserve Bank have messed the recovery up so badly is they don't get out of Wellington. There are too many spreadsheets and not enough real world, not enough vibe, not enough on-the-ground readings.
It鈥檚 a challenge for a Northern European to soak up something like New Zealand and get a gut feel for it and flip it. How long would it take anyone of us to suss out the subtlety of Sweden?
But given where we are, she starts from a low base, and the only way is up.
Let's hope she's a rockstar.
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