Brussels, 06/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - Hitherto hesitant, the United Kingdom's support for Dominique Strauss-Kahn's candidacy to the post of director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is now certain (EUROPE 9465). “Dominique Strauss-Kahn has extensive experience in international financial issues”, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said in a press release on 4 September, adding that the former French minister is the candidate that best meets the criteria required for taking over from Rodrigo Rato. “I welcome his commitment to engage with the whole membership of the Fund to promote global financial stability and economic development, and to tackle the reform challenges faced by the Fund”, Mr Darling pointed out, reiterating the Finance Ministry's wish for “a more open and transparent process for selecting the managing director of the IMF, regardless of nationality”.
By a coincidence of timetable, the commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, Joaquin Almunia, met the European IMF managing directors (seven in all) on Wednesday 5 September. “Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the EU candidate” (his rival, put forward by Russia, is Czech national Josef Tosovsky), the Commission states, asserting that the question of its support was not on the agenda of the meeting, which comes shortly before the hearings of the two candidates (during the third week of September) and in the last phase of consultations opened in Singapore on reform of the institution. By 2008, this reform must lead to amending the current breakdown of voting rights to ensure better representation of the emerging countries. In September 2006, in Singapore, the IMF had endorsed the first, token stage of quota reform by granting a little more decision-making power to four countries (China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey) but deeper changes will require some sacrifice, especially from the European side. Targeted proposals on decision-making rebalancing will be presented before the general assembly of the IMF Governing Council, to be held from 20-22 October 2007 in Washington.