New German To Head IMF Unlikely
March 6, 2004
According to reports out of Berlin, Germany will not insist on filling the vacancy at the top of the IMF with one of its own. After Köhler accepted the candidacy for the country's presidency, the German government on Friday was quick to ensure its European neighbors and the rest of the world that it would not put forth another candidate.
A German successor at the IMF would have no chance of acceptance, given the strong resistance from other European governments, a spokesperson for the Berlin government told Spiegel magazine.
Typically, Europe places the head of the IMF while the United States selects the head of the World Bank. "It's a gentleman's agreement," Barbara Böttcher, head of the Economic and European Policy Issues team at Deutsche Bank Research in Frankfurt, told DW-WORLD, but she also added that it was unlikely Europe would agree to another German.
Admitting that it will take a while before the IMF finds a replacement, Böttcher said it was a real shame that Köhler was pulled out of his post at the IMF. "It is really unfortunate that the Germans have, or think they have, so few capable people that they have to take Köhler out of this position, which is after all one of the highest diplomatic representations that a German holds internationally, in order to become president."
No German, but a European at any rate
Although no names have been confirmed yet, Frenchman Jean Lemierre, who succeeded Köhler as president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, has been named. Other possible candidates in the rumor mill are Spanish Finance Minister Rodrigo Rato, as well as Britain's powerful finance minister Chancellor Gordon Brown.
The search for a new managing director will not only stir up conflicting interests within Europe, but it will almost certainly rekindle the debate from 2000 when Köhler came into office. At that time developing countries and many Asian nations criticized the tradition of Europe presenting a candidate as outdated and repeatedly called to end the U.S.-European hegemony.
European Commission President Romano Prodi, however, said he is "deeply convinced that another European should take up the position, considering the very important economic weight which Europe and the European Union represents on the international stage."