-Caveat Lector-
One contender for the position of IMF director is former WTO director
Ruggiero (a Fiat exec, like Agnelli) -- Italy's contribution to the
Bilderbergers..
Europeans Face Tough Talks in Search for IMF Chief
Paris, Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- European Union governments braced themselves
for tough behind-the-scenes negotiations in coming months to choose a
candidate to replace Frenchman Michel Camdessus as head of the International
Monetary Fund.
Camdessus, who said yesterday he will step down in February for personal
reasons, urged IMF members not to play a ``regrettable game'' of fighting
over a new leader. They may not heed that warning, though, if recent battles
over the leadership of the World Trade Organization, the European Central
Bank and other institutions are any measure.
``It looks as though it's going to be another fight like we had over the
World Trade Organization,'' said Philippe Moreau- Defarges, an adviser at the
French Institute for International Relations, referring to an eight-month
deadlock that ended with the selection of former New Zealand Prime Minister
Mike Moore as WTO director general.
The choice of Camdessus's successor matters because the new leader will
inherit the post at a critical time, when the IMF's role in influencing
policies in emerging markets is expanding. Among other tasks, the fund is
trying to revitalize Russia's economy and bring Indonesia back from a near
depression, while putting a new emphasis on protecting the poor in its
economic- recovery plans.
Unwritten Rule
Since the IMF's foundation in 1946, there has been an unwritten understanding
between its members that the organization would have Washington as its
headquarters and a European at its helm.
While Europeans may have gotten the post in the past, the U.S. may be in
favor of breaking tradition to reflect the importance of globalization in the
next century, The New York Times reported, citing unidentified U.S. Treasury
officials.
Candidates for IMF managing director -- a job that pays Camdessus $241,700 a
year and is exempt from income tax -- are typically drawn from sponsor
countries' pool of diplomats, central bankers and finance ministry officials.
The process is usually done through discreet diplomatic channels.
And so far, all the rumored candidates for the job are from Europe.
Among the names touted in the media as contenders are Andrew Crockett, the
British general manager of the Bank for International Settlements; Italian
Treasury Director Mario Draghi and two other Italians, Foreign Affairs
Minister Lamberto Dini and former WTO Director General Renato Ruggiero.
Germany is also seen promoting one of its countrymen, with local press
tipping the likes of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
President Horst Koehler and Deputy Finance Minister Caio Koch-Weser.
No Flattery
Another potential U.K. contender, Deputy Bank of England Governor Mervyn
King, today brushed aside suggestions he was in the running. ``Are you trying
to flatter me by linking me with this job or are you trying to move me from
my post? The answer is I don't know,'' he said.
Of the seven IMF managing directors, three have been French. Two Swedes, a
Belgian and a Dutchman have also held the position. Camdessus succeeded
Jacques de Larosiere, another Frenchman, so after 21 years of French
stewardship the job may not go to someone from France again.
French presidential aides wouldn't comment on whether France will be putting
forward a candidate.
That seems improbable in light of the lingering ill-feeling toward Jacques
Chirac after his insistence last year that a fellow countryman be appointed
as president of the European Central Bank. ECB President Wim Duisenberg has
agreed to step down before his mandate is up to be replaced by a Frenchman,
supposedly Bank of France Governor Jean-Claude Trichet.
Tooth and Nail
``The French will fight tooth and nail to get their candidate the job because
they have lost the directorships of the European Bank of Reconstruction and
Development, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and
now the IMF,'' Moreau-Defarges said.
Among the most strident voices in claiming the IMF job is Germany, which has
rarely succeeded in placing one of its nationals in the world's most
prestigious jobs. Germans do not feature at the top of the international
organizations that have gotten new heads lately.
Romano Prodi secured the presidency of the European Commission for Italy,
Briton George Robertson is secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, Spaniard Javier Solana is the EU's high representative for the
Common Foreign and Security Policy and U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer
Gordon Brown is chairman of the IMF's International Monetary and Financial
Committee of the Board of Governors.
Bundesbank Vice President Juergen Stark said in a radio interview today it
was time a German got one of the prestigious jobs for one of its nationals.
Nov/10/1999 17:31
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