Larry Summers the US candidate? Fuggedaboutit!

With the Friday deadline for an American candidate looming, the grapevine is sprouting new fruit at a rapid rate. The latest rumour adds a little chicenery to the mix, with news that Geithner’s leaked list, which included Susan Rice, Larry Summers and John Kerry, actually had decoy names on it! What sneaky smoke and mirrors by the Treasury Secretary! And his grand plan to befuddle the general public was all so his homeboy Larry Summers could land the World Bank job.

Excuse the flippant tone, but these whispers of high level machinations by schemeing string-pullers in Washington have added a little spice to this story. We were all getting a little bogged down in Sachs to be honest. So, it seems that Larry Summers is the only US candidate at present. It’s been well established that Summers is not exactly Mr Popularity, and a new petition and accompanying website, Larry Summers? Fuggedaboutit!, picks up where many an have left off. The site is a playful reminder of Summers’s past indiscretions, with a section called ‘Let them eat waste’ detailing his absurd proposal to outsource pollution to poor countries. At the same time it is serious in its intent:

Larry Summers is the wrong person to lead the World Bank. Summers has continuously advocated for deregulation and other policies that favor Wall Street and corporate interests. He should not be inflicted on the developing countries that the World Bank is supposed to serve. Sign our petition urging President Obama to nominate someone better suited than Larry Summers to be World Bank president.

The point being consistently made is that a) politically it would be very tricky for Obama to select Larry Summers, and b), more importantly, his track record means he is far from suitable for the job of financing global sustainable development. If you agree, the poll is here. If you don’t then tell us why…

 

4 thoughts on “Larry Summers the US candidate? Fuggedaboutit!

  1. Pingback: Southern countries step up for the fight: Okonjo-Iweala and Ocampo to be nominated…. | World Bank President

  2. Evidence he’s still on the list? Or does it help to have a controversial straw man?

  3. If I were in Obama’s shoes, I would nominate Ingozi…. thats how real leaders enter history.

  4. No thank you for Larry Summers. Can we please get someone like Bill Clinton – someone who can actually help our client countries and not just serve the interests of Wall Street!?!

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