Reuters is reporting that “Colombia said on Thursday it does not see the candidacy of former finance minister Jose Antonio Ocampo to head the World Bank as viable, throwing into question whether he will be nominated for the post as a Friday deadline loomed.” Read More ..
Alas it matters not what the Colombian government thinks in this case. Mr. Ocampo need not have their ascent or support for his candidacy. Specifically here is the relevant procedure:
“Executive Directors can nominate candidates for the Board’s consideration. Candidates have to be nationals of the Bank’s membership. In the context of enhancing governance and accountability, the WG acknowledged that Governors may nominate. This should be carried out through the respective Executive Director.”
Mr. Ocampo is certainly a national of a Bank member state. As long as 1 governor wishes to nominate him, his name goes into the process.
This is definitely a good thing! Lets remember that the Mr. Ocampo was a minister in Colombia under a Liberal Party president (a centre-left party in Colombia). The current president and finance minister hail from the “Party of the U” (the Colombian centre-right party). Not surprising they don’t like him. If we accepted the need for governmental support for a candidate, then you just knocked out of the running half (or maybe more since not all governments have 50% of the vote) of all possible political candidates. That is certainly not the way to find the best-qualified candidate.