“MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Emerging economies said on Sunday that they will challenge a tradition that has placed an American at the head of the World Bank for decades, as the Obama administration shows sensitivity to the need for change at global institutions.
Emerging economies said it was time to break a decades-old tradition that has long shut out candidates from the developing world and kept an American at the head of the World Bank and a European leader at the International Monetary Fund.
The problem emerging economies face is finding a candidate willing to challenge the United States, which is the largest and most influential shareholder in the World Bank and IMF.
“I am sure the United States will nominate an excellent candidate but it is imperative that the process this time be contestable,” said Amar Bhattacharya, director of the G24 Secretariat, whose members include major developing and emerging economies.
“There are very strong candidates in the developing world. It is important, therefore, that emerging and developing countries make every effort to identify suitable candidates from the developing world,” he added.
Bhattacharya said emerging and developing countries would try to come up with a list of candidates by the deadline for nominees on March 23.
The politically-thorny issue of whether the leadership of the World Bank should be reserved for an American was not formally raised during G20 meetings of finance ministers in Mexico City at the weekend.
But U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner privately sounded out ministers from emerging economies on the sidelines on qualities necessary to head the World Bank, but did not say who the U.S. candidate might be, senior G20 official told Reuters…..”
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