"Gamble" seems to be the word most of the papers use to describe the government's latest plan to bail out the banking system.
The Mail describes it as a "terrifying gamble" and, in a dramatic editorial, declares: "If it fails, our children – and perhaps our children's children – will have to pay the price." The Telegraph suggests the same.
The Guardian says Labour is staking its reputation on this second bet, noting that "Brown's inadvertent title as saviour of the world might be slipping" as Labour realises that the public is likely to question why more money is being poured into Britain's banks.
The Times is also rather gloomy about Labour's political future. Peter Riddell says the Tories, fortified by the returned Kenneth Clarke, will mount an even stronger challenge: "All Mr Brown and Mr Darling can hope is that this package will, at last, stem the erosion in confidence. The political implications for them if it does not are dire."
The FT appears more supportive of the government action, writing in its editorial: "The government is the only entity that has the financial power and the clout to overcome this type of problem." But in a comment piece in the paper, Frank Partnoy writes that government intervention can prolong the inevitable – but only for so long. "Soon we will bury more banks," he says, adding that the bail-out merely "provides a financial hospice to give us time to say goodbye".
This is an extract from the Wrap
