A culture to learn from
Saturday, 21 May 2011
Mahmudur Rahman
The case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is an interesting one. A socialist by conviction, condescending to cohort with capitalism and now caught in a huge kafuffle over physical misdemeanours, he has defied the suicide watch on him and resigned from the top position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Whether nor not he is guilty will be decided in the courts but the Frenchman with a suspiciously Germanic name is convinced that the battle to clear his name will take all of his energy and strength, leaving little for his job. There is more to the matter than just the individual here. Strauss-Kahn's socialist party in France is now in severe distress that its one-time leader avowedly seeking to infiltrate socialistic trends in IMF actions is now caught with his pants down metaphorically speaking. It could not have come at a worse time as the IMF battles to follow its own trend of assistance in the wake of several begging bowls being thrust in its way to ward-off national bankruptcy on the part of states. The major outcome is the fact that he resigned in the wake of the scandal, something that is rather alien to Bangladesh or the sub-continent by and large. As recently as the huge BP blow-out, we have seen top-notchers remaining put rather than pass on. That was to the extent of the then chief executive being relocated rather than sacked. But that was a slightly different example where personally or morally he could not have been at blame, save maybe for his somewhat nonsensical responses towards the responsibility. Heads of government and individual ministers have thrown in the towel when moral responsibility comes in to the equation because politics is the strange animal that it is. And in the same breath it is true that very few have called it a day even in the midst of the massive global meltdown. On the contrary, it has been companies that have bitten the dust. It's almost as if economic issues and their responsibility are on a lower plane than a sexual indiscretion by someone at the top. Italian premier Berlusconi is another one who chooses to fight out such accusations in court while holding on to his job. Perhaps the learning curve goes the other way these days. It is more in what happens next, that Strauss-Kahn's departure is of import. The crucial phase that the world economy is going through will require steady steering and the names emerging from the hat are not coming from the developing world. That's no surprise and maybe the powers that be may like to consider looking at candidates from countries who have steered themselves well through the troubled waters and debris left by a global mess created solely by the west. (The writer can be reached at mahmudrahman@gmail.com)
The case of Dominique Strauss-Kahn is an interesting one. A socialist by conviction, condescending to cohort with capitalism and now caught in a huge kafuffle over physical misdemeanours, he has defied the suicide watch on him and resigned from the top position of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Whether nor not he is guilty will be decided in the courts but the Frenchman with a suspiciously Germanic name is convinced that the battle to clear his name will take all of his energy and strength, leaving little for his job. There is more to the matter than just the individual here. Strauss-Kahn's socialist party in France is now in severe distress that its one-time leader avowedly seeking to infiltrate socialistic trends in IMF actions is now caught with his pants down metaphorically speaking. It could not have come at a worse time as the IMF battles to follow its own trend of assistance in the wake of several begging bowls being thrust in its way to ward-off national bankruptcy on the part of states. The major outcome is the fact that he resigned in the wake of the scandal, something that is rather alien to Bangladesh or the sub-continent by and large. As recently as the huge BP blow-out, we have seen top-notchers remaining put rather than pass on. That was to the extent of the then chief executive being relocated rather than sacked. But that was a slightly different example where personally or morally he could not have been at blame, save maybe for his somewhat nonsensical responses towards the responsibility. Heads of government and individual ministers have thrown in the towel when moral responsibility comes in to the equation because politics is the strange animal that it is. And in the same breath it is true that very few have called it a day even in the midst of the massive global meltdown. On the contrary, it has been companies that have bitten the dust. It's almost as if economic issues and their responsibility are on a lower plane than a sexual indiscretion by someone at the top. Italian premier Berlusconi is another one who chooses to fight out such accusations in court while holding on to his job. Perhaps the learning curve goes the other way these days. It is more in what happens next, that Strauss-Kahn's departure is of import. The crucial phase that the world economy is going through will require steady steering and the names emerging from the hat are not coming from the developing world. That's no surprise and maybe the powers that be may like to consider looking at candidates from countries who have steered themselves well through the troubled waters and debris left by a global mess created solely by the west. (The writer can be reached at mahmudrahman@gmail.com)