French finance minister is trying to garner support from emerging countries, some of which have strongly criticised the unwritten convention of appointing a European as head of the IMF
French finance minister Christine Lagarde is taking to the road, visiting India first as she kicks off her campaign for the top job at the International Monetary Fund.
Lagarde, the frontrunner to become the next managing director of the IMF, has support across Europe and from the US but faces opposition from developing economies angry that the top job in global finance should once again go to a European.
French defence minister Gerard Longuet, who is on a two-day visit to India, said on Friday that Lagarde will visit New Delhi. She is trying to garner support from emerging countries, some of which have strongly criticised the unwritten convention of appointing a European as head of the IMF, which makes emergency loans to countries in crisis. Since its foundation in 1947, the IMF has always been run by a European, while the World Bank is usually headed by an American.
Trying to overcome opposition from emerging economies, Lagarde admitted that there had been complaints about the lack of senior management from their countries.
"If that was the case, which it very well might be ? I would certainly apply the principles that in my previous roles I applied to gender," she told the Financial Times, referring to her long-standing practice of choosing a woman over a man in appointments if they are equally qualified.
"I would want to remedy the situation," she added. "We need appropriate representation of high-level staff based on merit from various nationalities and academic backgrounds."
India, along with Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, decried Europe's "obsolete" grip on the IMF top job earlier this week. They argued in a joint letter that the choice of IMF head should be based on competence, not nationality. However, they have not come up with a common candidate to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who stepped down after being charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York.
Mexico's central bank chief, Agust�n Carstens, has emerged as Lagarde's main rival for the IMF job. He has said he intends to carry "the flag of emerging markets".
Former South African finance minister Trevor Manuel has been mooted as a candidate, although he is currently involved in a racism row, and Russia has promised to back Kazakhstan's central bank chief, Grigori Marchenko.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/27/christine-lagarde-imf-campaign-india
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