Clinton Supports Germany's Horst Koehler for
IMF Job, Ending Fight with EU
By Kim Dixon
Clinton Supports EU-Backed Koehler for Top IMF Job (Update3)
(Adds Japan withdraws candidate, Koehler to fly to
Washington today in 8th paragraph.)
Washington, March 14 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. President Bill
Clinton threw his support behind Germany's Horst Koehler to lead
the International Monetary Fund, ending a four-month
transatlantic tangle over who will head the global lender.
``The president told Chancellor (Gerhard) Schroeder that the
United States is prepared to support Mr. Koehler as the new head
of the IMF,' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said. ``The
president and Schroeder further agreed that Koehler should retain
the talented management team at the IMF.'
Japan has withdrawn its own candidate for the post, Eisuke
Sakakibara, and will back Koehler, Finance Minister Kiichi
Miyazawa said in a statement. That makes Koehler's selection all
but certain as the U.S., EU and Japan have a bigger bloc of votes
on the IMF's executive board than any other countries.
Koehler's election would end an embarrassing diplomatic
ordeal for Germany's Schroeder, whose first choice to head the
IMF, Caio Koch-Weser, was rejected by the U.S. last month on the
grounds he lacks political heft, rebuffing the EU which backed
him before announcing support for Koehler yesterday.
The struggle over a new leader for an organization that
monitors the global financial system began when Michel Camdessus
announced in November he would step down as head of the IMF in
February. Camdessus's departure left a vacuum because it came at
a time when the fund is facing a hail of criticism from the U.S.
Congress and others to redefine its role. |
