CITY AND SUBURBAN
A popular win as the City's farmers and truckers see off the McKinseyite nannies
CHRISTOPHER FILDES
Grangemouth has come to the City, says the merchant banker happily. The farmers and truckers have won and the McKinseyite nannies have got their come- uppance. We know best, so they all tried to tell us, we have breakfast with Tony, so do as we say. . . . At this point he develops the giggles and has to be revived with a glass of champagne. The populist revolt has some unlikely supporters. The Stock Exchange's rank and file refused to let Don Cruick- shank, their new chairman, tell them what was good for them. Instead they put their hands up for ousting him and forced the resignation of his hapless chief executive. Mr Cruickshank is a leading McKinseyite — a member, that is, of the old boys' club of McKinsey, the ubiquitous consultants. He arrived in the spring, fresh from heading the government's task force which urged us all to get our systems ready for the year 2000. This was either a great success or complete- ly unnecessary, depending on your point of view. At the Exchange, he at once launched its plan to merge with its opposite number in Germany. This was a consultant's copy- book solution to its problems, or to its board's problems, at least — strong on strategic vision, some of the awkward details brushed over, but undeniably pan-European and on-message. The obstinate farmers and truckers could not see why they should give the control of their business away. They held out for something better, in their pop- ulist way they turned out to be right, and they have more friends than they knew.
Previous page
