Christine Lagarde launches campaign to become first female IMF leader

French finance minister throws in her hat after ‘mature reflection’, and is backed by the UK, Germany, France and the EU The French finance minister, Christine Lagarde, has launched her bid to become the next head of the International Monetary Fund following the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is facing charges of sexual assault. If she is successful she will become the first woman to head the organisation, known as “the world’s banker”, since its inception in 1945. Lagarde, who has the backing of Britain, Germany, France and the European Union, said she came to the decision to throw her hat in the ring to become the IMF’s new managing director after “mature reflection” and having consulted with the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. “If I’m elected I’ll bring all my expertise as a lawyer, a minister, a manager and a woman [to the job],” she said at a press conference in Paris on Wednesday. Although Lagarde has emerged as a front-runner for the influential post, which has historically been held by a European, IMF directors from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (Brics) said the unwritten convention of appointing a managing director from Europe was “obsolete” and undermined the legitimacy of the fund. The Brics group called for a “truly transparent, merit-based and competitive process”. Lagarde is also facing a possible legal investigation into the payment of €285m of taxpayers’ money to controversial businessman Bernard Tapie, a supporter of Sarkozy, to settle a long-running legal dispute. Strauss-Kahn, 62, stood down last week after he was arrested in New York on 14 May and indicted on seven charges of sexual assault on a hotel housekeeper, including attempted rape. He denies the charges and has been released on bail. Admirers of the 55-year-old Lagarde, a former national synchronised swimming champion, have described her as a “rock star” of the financial world. She earned praise at home and abroad for her handling of the economic crisis in Europe and for her no-nonsense, straight-talking approach. Having worked as a lawyer in the US for 25 years she speaks impeccable English. She earned the nickname L’Américaine among her compatriots for suggesting the French needed to stop their “obsessive thinking”, roll up their shirtsleeves and “get to work” to pull the country out of the financial doldrums. Kenneth Rogoff, a former IMF chief economist who is now professor at Harvard University, said of her: “She is enormously impressive, politically astute and a strong personality.” He told the New York Times: “At meetings all over the world, she is treated practically like a rock star.” Sarkozy is reported to be planning to seek Barack Obama’s support for Lagarde when the leaders meet at the G8 economic summit in the French seaside town of Deauville on Thursday and Friday. America has by far the biggest say, with 16.74% of the votes, followed by Japan with 6.01%, Germany 5.87%, and the UK and France with 4.85%. Other member countries have less than 4%. On Wednesday the US treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, said Lagarde and the Mexican candidate for the post, Agustin Carstens, were both “credible” figures to lead the IMF, but added he wanted the candidate with the broadest support. The debt crisis in European countries, including Greece, Portugal and Ireland, has made the IMF’s role overseeing the global financial system – and lending money to struggling nations – even more crucial. Lagarde said she would not focus exclusively on Europe. “No zone has been spared by the financial crisis,” she said, adding that she would “serve the fund, not as a European, not as a French person or minister, but as someone at the service of the fund and its members”. A decision on whether an inquiry will be held into the Tapie affair will be made in Paris on 10 June, but Lagarde said she had “total confidence” and would maintain her candidacy even if an investigation is launched. “I have always acted in the interests of the state and in absolute respect of the law,” she said. The IMF’s 24-member executive board, representing the 187 member countries, is expected to name a new managing director by the end of June. If appointed, Lagarde said she would also bring a woman’s touch to the male-dominated corridors of the IMF headquarters in Washington. In a recent television interview, the French minister expressed the view that men, left to themselves, will usually make a mess of things, a view she reiterated in a newspaper interview. “In gender-dominated environments, men have a tendency to show how hairy chested they are, compared with the man who’s sitting next to them … I honestly think that there should never be too much testosterone in one room.” Christine Lagarde IMF France Europe Dominique Strauss-Kahn Economics Global economy Kim Willsher guardian.co.uk

Posted by on May 25, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.