When a politician goes to breakfast

Following up on columnist Eric Jackson’s comments about political promises and transportation, I will jump the gun on the Star’s annual projection of things to come. There will be major announcements, early in 2009 about the forgotten transportation system. It will not include an ultra modern skyway, and it will not be in place before the next president takes office.

OUT OF FOCUS. In the months leading up to the PRD primaries, when Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro was campaigning the party’s presidential candidate, The Panama Star received a near daily flow of news about the mayor’s role in solving city problems, from garbage collection to ribbon cutting of mini-electrification programs, distributing light bulbs to the poor and spraying against diseases carried by rats. When the mayor took leave of absence to work full time on his failing bid, the supply of news dried up, and hasn’t been resumed

Now that he is angling to become vice-president, part of the new Balbina-Navarro dream team (shades of Barrack and Hillary), so the city hall PR flacks may soon be back in action.

Meanwhile the remodeled city hall, backing on to Justo Arosemena is in business, and conveniently close to Café Balboa, the breakfast hub of politicos and their hangers on. Mayor Navarro was busy yesterday, taking advantage of the greeting opportunity, as soon after 9 a.m. he did the rounds of the tables, gland handing, hugging, back patting before settling at one table for an animated discussion with a group of local businessmen. Absent from the scene was a former regular diner, Daniel Delgado Diamante , ex- Minister of Justice and Government.

WELCOME HOME. Phil Edmonston , our American-Canadian columnist, doer of good deeds and thorn-in-the-side of car manufacturers, is back in town after a ten-day five-city marathon in Canada, to promote his latest lemonaid book.

The way things are going he will soon have thorns to spare as the car industry, victim of its head-in-the-sand mistakes, contracts even if the U.S. government hands over billions of dollars to bail out the American Big three. How will we spell “big” in 2009.

HELPING KIDS. A busy calendar kept me away from the first of the Christmas parties organized by the American society on Tuesday, but we will make amends.

WORLD EVENTS The first and second “World Wars” were not truly world wars as there were many countries that remained on the sidelines, where life went on pretty much as usual, although there may have been some side effect (like big profits selling to the combatants, or minor shortages). Does the same standard apply in a Worldwide recession? A recession is officially described as: “Two consecutive quarters with the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in decline.” On the other hand NBER (the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research) looks for the peak of economic activity by considering GDP and other factors like production, employment, consumption. There are some countries, where neither definition will apply and with Panama’s employment figures climbing, we will hopefully be one of those. a reduced GDP, but growth nevertheless. That will send the economists crazy

Moises Cohen a Panamanian banking chief spokeyesterday of continuing good times for the economy, unless you are thinking of building and selling yet one more massive over priced condominium in Punta Pacifica or on Avenida Balboa. Does that mean the construction of some buildings within the reach of Panamanians who are not involved in money laundering?