Government should look overseas for 'superhuman' Bank of England governor, says Alistair Darling Mr Darling suggested there may not be enough British talent to take on "a big job that needs huge abilities." We should look around the world [for the next governor]. It's a huge job. It requires a superhuman and I'm not sure we've got that many in this country. There are good candidates in other parts of the world. Mr Darling was speaking to the BBC's Newsnight programme ahead of Friday's fifth anniversary of the collapse of Northern Rock. He warned that the lessons from the beginning of the banking crisis are not being heeded by eurozone leaders. [We learnt that] you do more than people are expecting and you do it immediately. When RBS was hours away from running out of money we had a plan. Today you're seeing the opposite and you're getting that panic. He said that "austerity will not work alone" to return the UK economy to growth. It's not working in Spain or here. What is lacking is confidence. And the longer you leave it the more you have to do. I don't believe building conservatories is the road to salvation," he added, referring to the Government's plan to allow home owners to extend their homes without planning permission.