On Apr 15, 2007, at 8:26 PM, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> What surprises me is that the powers that be are
> willing to sacrifice the international reputation of
> the Bank to save the position of a Bush cronie. Why?
The FT reports:
> A senior European official told the Financial Times that unless the
> White House withdrew its support, European countries were not
> sufficiently united to succeed in an immediate attempt to force Mr
> Wolfowitz’s removal.
>
> But a series of European ministers voiced sharp public criticism of
> Mr Wolfowitz at the weekend and the affair overshadowed the formal
> agenda of IMF and World Bank spring meetings.
>
> Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, Germany’s development minister, said Mr
> Wolfowitz had to decide “whether he still has the credibility to
> represent the position of the World Bank”.
>
> Hilary Benn, the UK development minister, said “this whole business
> has damaged the bank and should not have happened”.
>
> Europe’s position was not united, according to the European
> official. Germany and the UK were leading the fight against Mr
> Wolfowitz, with France holding back for tactical reasons and Spain
> willing to sit on the sidelines.
>
> The White House has twice declared its backing for the bank
> president and several African leaders stood up in support.
> Antoinette Sayeh, finance minister of Liberia and a former World
> Bank official, reflected the African stance, praising Mr
> Wolfowitz’s “visionary leadership”.