Translated material
Socialist for the IMF
The European Union is in a hurry to approve Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the new head of the fund
EU economics and finance ministers yesterday supported French hegemony in international finance. At the summit in Brussels, the ministers decided to nominate the French politician, one of the leaders of the Socialist Party, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, as a single candidate from the EU for the post of managing director of the International Monetary Fund . As you know, Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet now heads the European Central Bank, Frenchman Pascal Lamy heads the World Trade Organization, Frenchman Jean Lemierre heads the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.The candidacy of socialist Strauss-Kahn was proposed to European ministers by French President Nicolas Sarkozy. This immediately raised suspicions that Sarkozy was getting rid of a strong political figure within the country (despite the defeats of Ségolène Royal in the presidential elections and the Socialist Party in the parliamentary elections, Strauss-Kahn remains one of the leading politicians, who also has every chance of uniting the fragmented socialists). Nevertheless, the ministers did not delve into Sarkozy’s “maneuvers,” and yesterday at a meeting in Brussels they agreed on Strauss-Kahn’s candidacy. “The finance ministers of 27 EU member countries today supported my candidacy for the post of head of the IMF , and I am ready to thank them for their trust,” the Frenchman responded yesterday.
The voice of a united Europe is decisive in the appointment of the head of the IMF. According to an unwritten, but already 60 years of firmly observed tradition, the United States nominates the president of the World Bank, and European countries nominate the managing director of the IMF. Over the years of its existence, the foundation was led by three Frenchmen, two Swedes, as well as a Belgian, a Dutchman, a German and a Spaniard. However, the desire of many shareholders of international financial organizations to break this tradition is growing year by year . Sitting in a room where portraits of all the fund’s leaders are hung, representatives of developing countries sometimes ask each other: “How long will we continue to agree with this?” It is not easy to break tradition, because the United States and the European Union have a “controlling stake” of votes in the IMF and World Bank. But it is not impossible either: decisions such as the appointment of heads of organizations are made by consensus.
As you know, a vacancy at the IMF appeared unscheduled . At the end of May, Spaniard Rodrigo de Rato, whose contract as managing director of the fund expires in two years, said that he would work only until October. Mr. de Rato attributed this to the need to pay more attention to the education of his children. Be that as it may, the IMF has a chance to get a more convincing leader than one of the leaders of the Spanish People's Party, who served as Minister of Economy in the government of Jose Maria Aznar.
Strauss-Kahn's nomination is a serious challenge for the IMF, which, after de Rato's resignation, had the right to count on the arrival of a professional, not a politician. The calculation has not yet been justified. The biography of the Frenchman, an economist by training, is entirely connected with politics. He was a member of the socialist governments of Edith Cresson and Pierre Beregovoy (as Minister of Industry), and in 1997-1999 he served as Minister of Economy and Finance in the cabinet of Lionel Jospin. There are no economic works to his credit.
And the first signs that there will be difficulties with the election of a Frenchman are already evident. On Monday evening, on the eve of the decisive negotiations in Brussels, the IMF board of directors (which will choose the managing director) made a special statement in Washington. It states that any board member can nominate a candidate “regardless of their nationality.” This is a real riot.
It is obvious that the rebels have little strength against a unified European position. Moreover, there is no need to look for support in Washington (where, perhaps, Strauss-Kahn would have been given a ride): the Bush administration is “obliged” to Europe for its full support with the recent appointment of Robert Zoellick as president of the World Bank.
At the same time, the IMF Board of Directors will most likely refuse to choose from one candidate and will insist on a competitive process. Consequently, developing countries will be able to nominate their candidates. It is still impossible to assess their chances, although, probably, only other Europeans could truly compete with Strauss-Kahn. Yesterday in Brussels one such candidate was discussed - Warsaw presented former Finance Minister Marek Belka. But in the current situation, when the Kaczynski brothers tormented their EU colleagues with their dissenting opinions on all issues, the Polish candidate had no chance. And yesterday, as the discussion progressed, Mr. Belka’s candidacy was withdrawn. But the new British Finance Minister Alistair Darling, who supported Strauss-Kahn's candidacy, spoke out loud about the problems with his election. He said there had been too little discussion "to turn away very good candidates from the rest of the world." The Briton also mentioned that the French already lead several international organizations. But he added: “This is not a French problem, but a European one.” From this we can conclude that Britain, the second most influential shareholder of the IMF, may support alternative candidates. As for the Russian position, Moscow, apparently, will now support any decision with which Washington agrees.