Leaders bring agendas to financial summit

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Dignitaries in Washington for the weekend's global financial crisis summit may be setting the agenda instead of following the U.S. lead, observers say.

The state of flux between President George Bush and President-elect Barack Obama has created an opportunity for world leaders such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and others to push their ideas for addressing the global financial crunch, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

Sarkozy, for example, has criticized the "all-powerful market," urging bold reforms such as restrictions on executive pay, the Post said. China recently announced a $586 billion fiscal stimulus plan, giving momentum to calls for other nations, including the United States, to follow suit.

Obama won't attend the summit that begins Saturday, but is sending two supporters -- former Republican Rep. James Leach of Iowa and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright -- to meet informally with the visitors.

"It's a huge opportunity for other countries to try to make than themselves more center stage than usual," said Simon Johnson, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. "Normally there is a clear U.S. agenda that bangs against other agendas, and ordinarily the American president sets the tone."

Dan Price, White House official handling summit preparations, said officials expect to agree on a broad action plan, including establishing working groups on issues such as overhauling financial regulations.