The International Monetary Fund is a global development institution with 185 members, so why is Nicolas Sarkozy treating it as his own personal fiefdom?
The International Monetary Fund is a global development institution with 185 members and resources of £158bn, so why is Nicolas Sarkozy treating it as his own personal fiefdom? Just a few weeks after he came to power promising labour-market reform, France's president has fallen back on a more familiar policy of jobs pour les garçons - at least if the politicking over who heads the IMF is any guide. Since the post was suddenly and surprisingly put up for grabs last month, Mr Sarkozy has been lobbying hard for his man to take over. This week he got his way: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former French finance minister, is to be Europe's choice.
There are two big problems here. One is the way in which Brussels chose its candidate, over what reporters called "a lengthy, informal breakfast". Beer and sandwiches may have been replaced by coffee and croissants, but this was still a backroom deal, with no open tender nor any formal process. That such an important job can be treated as if it were merely a diplomatic bauble illustrates the second problem: the continental assumption that, since a European has run the IMF for all 61 years of its existence, one should continue to do so always and for ever. This is the long-standing compact whereby an American runs the World Bank, while Europe gets the IMF. The French call this "la règle tacite"; the British might know it better as Buggins' turn.
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