With US backing, Strauss-Kahn sails toward top IMF post
Friday, 21 September 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept 20 (AFP): With the gale-force wind of the United States at his back, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the European Union candidate for managing director of the International Monetary Fund, appears set to sail to victory next week.
Wednesday the US weighed into the two-man contest to succeed IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato, on the eve of the Frenchman's interview with the IMF board for the job.
"I urge the board to positively consider the candidacy of Dominique Strauss-Kahn" to succeed Rato, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a statement.
"The US is supporting Strauss-Kahn because we believe he will work to make the bold reforms necessary to lead a strong and relevant Fund into the future."
Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister and Socialist leader proposed by France, had already been widely seen as the favourite against Russia's candidate, Josef Tosovsky, a former Czech prime minister and central bank chief.
Rato, a former Spanish finance minister, is leaving the 185-nation financial institution in late October, nearly two years before his mandate ends.
The 24-member IMF executive board is set to interview Strauss-Kahn Thursday, two days after interviewing Tosovsky. The board will announce the results of a vote on the two candidates on September 28.
With 16.83 per cent of the voting rights, the United States is the largest shareholder in the IMF. The 27-nation European bloc controls 32.09 per cent of the votes.
By comparison, Russia, which backs Tosovsky, has only 2.70 per cent of the voting rights. The Czech government itself is supporting the Frenchman.
Hours before the US Treasury announcement, Aleksei Mozhin, the Russian director on the IMF board, said in an interview that Russia was counting on developing countries to support its candidate.
"We count on a very broad support among the developing countries," he told the news agency.
"We are very proud of this nomination," said Mozhin. Tosovsky was "selected exclusively on the basis of merit and his professional background."
Russia's nomination process sets a "very positive precedent," he said.
"It's a case where a board member from one country has nominated a candidate from another country exclusively on the basis of his professional merit, not on the basis of national prestige or national vanity," he said.
Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, lauded Strauss-Kahn's credentials for the job.
"Strauss-Kahn's experience and drive have prepared him well to vigorously pursue reform of the IMF, including implementation of the Fund's new decision on exchange-rate policies and giving a greater voice to emerging market countries," Paulson said.
Wednesday the US weighed into the two-man contest to succeed IMF managing director Rodrigo Rato, on the eve of the Frenchman's interview with the IMF board for the job.
"I urge the board to positively consider the candidacy of Dominique Strauss-Kahn" to succeed Rato, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said in a statement.
"The US is supporting Strauss-Kahn because we believe he will work to make the bold reforms necessary to lead a strong and relevant Fund into the future."
Strauss-Kahn, a former finance minister and Socialist leader proposed by France, had already been widely seen as the favourite against Russia's candidate, Josef Tosovsky, a former Czech prime minister and central bank chief.
Rato, a former Spanish finance minister, is leaving the 185-nation financial institution in late October, nearly two years before his mandate ends.
The 24-member IMF executive board is set to interview Strauss-Kahn Thursday, two days after interviewing Tosovsky. The board will announce the results of a vote on the two candidates on September 28.
With 16.83 per cent of the voting rights, the United States is the largest shareholder in the IMF. The 27-nation European bloc controls 32.09 per cent of the votes.
By comparison, Russia, which backs Tosovsky, has only 2.70 per cent of the voting rights. The Czech government itself is supporting the Frenchman.
Hours before the US Treasury announcement, Aleksei Mozhin, the Russian director on the IMF board, said in an interview that Russia was counting on developing countries to support its candidate.
"We count on a very broad support among the developing countries," he told the news agency.
"We are very proud of this nomination," said Mozhin. Tosovsky was "selected exclusively on the basis of merit and his professional background."
Russia's nomination process sets a "very positive precedent," he said.
"It's a case where a board member from one country has nominated a candidate from another country exclusively on the basis of his professional merit, not on the basis of national prestige or national vanity," he said.
Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, lauded Strauss-Kahn's credentials for the job.
"Strauss-Kahn's experience and drive have prepared him well to vigorously pursue reform of the IMF, including implementation of the Fund's new decision on exchange-rate policies and giving a greater voice to emerging market countries," Paulson said.