Flawed Process Nominates Right Leader for IMF, But at a Cost
Multilateralism is under attack. The IMF and World Bank need to look beyond Europe and the U.S. for leaders to help save it.
Just between us Europeans, there’s a job going at the IMF.
Photographer: Bloomberg
The good news is that the International Monetary Fund has confirmed that a qualified and respected multilateralist, Kristalina Georgieva, is likely to succeed Christine Lagarde, the institution’s admired and accomplished managing director since 2011.
Less good is the process that led to this uncontested nomination. As at the World Bank a few months ago, the fact that only a single candidate ultimately emerged reflects exasperation and disappointment with faltering governance reforms in these key institutions. The sentiment risks further undermining their credibility and functioning at a time when policy coordination among systemically important players is weak and the global economy is beset by slowing growth, trade tensions and the risk of a currency war.