June 25th 2007 | Jeff Powell | More on Zoellick | 6 Comments
Amidst the stack of mindless articles carrying verbatim the Bank’s press release on Zoellick’s coronation, Steven Weisman’s piece for the New York Times stands out. He highlights one of the thorny issues that Zoellick will have to deal with - deciding whether Suzanne Rich Folsom, head of the department of institutional integrity, is doing a good job scaring bad corrupt Bank staff, or was doing a bad job of advancing the interests of the Wolfowitz coterie. more…
June 21st 2007 | The Beaver | More on The Process, Zoellick | Comments Off
No this is not Casablanca. Looks like Zoellick met with the Board late last night (an “informal” meeting that lasted four hours reports AFP) to discuss “strategic directions, leadership, corporate governance, multilateral environment and independence ” of the Bank and according to the New York Times, “A bank official familiar with Mr. Zoellick’s meeting said he was very precise in discussing possible changes in the bank’s governing structure and its difficulties on issues like whether to continue lending to so-called middle-income countries that have easy access to capital markets, the need to raise money for the poorest countries and combating corruption in bank lending.”
more…
June 20th 2007 | Jeff Powell | More on Zoellick | 1 Comment
Fans of 70s German synthpop will particularly enjoy this photo of Robert Zoellick with Brazilian president Lula on Monday.
June 19th 2007 | Jeff Powell | More on Zoellick | 3 Comments
Yesterday the board posted this on the timeline for Zoellick’s coronation: “The Executive Directors have decided to invite the nominee to an informal meeting on June 20, to discuss key issues of interest to the World Bank Group. … Following this meeting, and follow-up interactions and consultations with their respective authorities, the Executive Directors intend to meet again on June 25, 2007 to decide on the Presidency of the Bank. They expect that all the required processes will be completed by June 30, 2007.”
June 19th 2007 | Voice of Reason | More on Zoellick | 7 Comments
Robert Zoellick is the one and only candidate for World Bank President. Beginning on June 20, the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors must take some important actions to prepare for a successful five years, and build on the Wolfowitz Scandal to move forward and restore credibility in its own role and behavior.
June 18’s Irish Times puts it well
“However, the Bank’s board must not treat Mr Zoellick’s presidency as a done deal. He must convince them that he has a firm understanding of what it seeks to do and of its full potential in alleviating poverty. The Bank hopes to raise $30 billion over the next three years to further its aims. Mr Zoellick must demonstrate that the Bank deserves that funding and will distribute it without fear or favour.”
Well said, but it’s $39 billion for IDA, as well as a stronger role for the Bank in Middle Income Countries, and greater clarity about what IFC’s role is vis-a-vis other financing sources for the private sector.
The Board has to do three things. more…
June 17th 2007 | Soren Ambrose | More on Zoellick | 4 Comments
As soon as the June 15th deadline for alternative nominations for the World Bank presidency passed, Robert Zoellick, the presumptive nominee, let loose with an attack on Hugo Chavez and Venezuela. Is it a coincidence that Chavez is the Bush Administration’s favorite enemy of the moment? No prizes for guessing whose water Zoellick will be carrying at the World Bank.
June 15th 2007 | The Beaver | More on The Process, Zoellick | Comments Off
June 15th has come and gone and Zoellick is the only game on H street even after calls for a new transparent process of appointing the president of the World Bank have emerged from different sources and countries. According to Reuters, a bank official said the board was expected to meet with Zoellick next week, with an eye toward finalizing the process by June 29 and having the new president in place on July 1 since no other nominations have been submitted. more…
June 15th 2007 | Jeff Powell | More on Zoellick | 4 Comments
Principal nominee for president of the World Bank Robert Zoellick is currently laying low after letting it slip two days ago that key positions in the Bank may be filled by his pet cats and rabbits. This comes after stinging criticism of former Bank president Paul Wolfowitz for appointing his own favourites. more…
Nominations for World Bank president close today, and barring a miracle, it will be a one horse race.
In Norway yesterday, Zoellick met with development minister Erik Solheim: “The Norwegian principled position is that this should be an open competition where everyone should be able to run – Chinese, Argentinian, whatever, Norwegian for that matter. We will work with other governments to make such a procedure for future presidential appointments of the World Bank. That said, we think this is a very good proposal of Mr Zoellick as the new president of the World Bank.” Solheim also said that Europe’s prerogative to choose the head of the IMF should also be abandoned. more…
June 14th 2007 | Jeff Powell | More on Zoellick | Comments Off
In London on Monday, Zoellick sidestepped questions on whether the US should retain the right to annoint the head of the Bank. The FT reports that when asked if he was likely to do a Wolfowitz by bringing in his own people to key positions in the Bank, he quipped: “I don’t have people. I have two cats and two rabbits.” Which does raise the question of whether they would be better qualified than some of the Wolfowitz appointees. more…
