The battle for succession to the presidency of Robert Zoellick at the World Bank (WB) was officially opened a few days ago by the application of another American, economist Jeffrey Sachs, United Nations (UN) official. Sachs, who chairs a committee of the UN, officially announced his intention to compete in an article published in the Washington Post.
The announcement was made in circumstances in which a source close to the World Bank said that “U.S. officials are considering the launch in the race of the Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, one of his predecessors, Lawrence Summers, or a representative from the private sector, like Mohamed El -Erian, chief of Pimco investment fund. Sachs wanted to clarify that he doesn’t comes from the Wall Street or the American political landscape.
An article in the Scottish newspaper “The Scotsman” criticized authorities in Washington for always believing that the World Bank must service its own foreign policy and commercial interests. “The idea is that these applications must be submitted by the administrators of the institution, the member countries, which leaves no room for independent candidates”, said the source.
Under an unwritten law, the World Bank presidency belongs to an American and a European should be at the helm of IMF. Western dominance is increasingly challenged in the meantime. Brazil suggested on February 15, the same day that Zoellick announced that it will not run for another term, that his replacement should come from emerging countries.
Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, proposed last month that the new president of the WB to be his compatriot Mohammad Yunus, inventor of microcredit and Nobel Peace Prize holder. Sources quoted by AFP said that things will begin to clarify the conditions under which the period for applications will close on March 23, for nomination to take place before the spring meeting of the World Bank on April 20.
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