Ally attacks Arnie's £8bn bond plan

CALIFORNIAN governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is under fire from one of his erstwhile backers, who has slammed his plan to issue a $15bn (£8bn) bond to consolidate the state's debt.

Fresno Mayor Alan Autry said the issue of a bond under such circumstances was unheard of.

'Deficit borrowing is bad public policy. Never before in the history of our state has the government used bonds to finance deficits,' he said. 'Never before has one generation of Californians, unable to curb its spending habits, gone to this extreme to support this habit.'

Autry, a former professional footballer and actor, was a vocal supporter of Schwarzenegger. His opposition to the plan, the centrepiece of the governor's economic recovery plan, is a bitter blow to Schwarzenegger who has only just begun to swing public opinion in favour of the controversial debt sale.

Until now, Schwarzenegger has faced no dissent from within his camp, with California Treasurer Phil Angelides, a potential 2006 Democratic gubernatorial candidate, his most vocal critic.

Schwarzenegger has built a broad coalition of Republican and Democratic political leaders to back the bond ahead of a popular vote on the issue next Tuesday.