President Georges Pompidou is said to have warned his Prime Minister, Giscard d’Estaing, that the three dangers for the modern politician were wine, women and technologists. Politicians in Australia have ignored his advice. Here picking winners has always been a bi-partisan sport. The present government is putting in a gold medal performance. First, the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research pulled the rug out from under many hopeful emerging companies by cancelling the Commercial Ready grant scheme without offering any immediate alternative. Then the Prime Minister announced a Green Car project to finance a model that at least one…