[stop-imf] US to back German choice for IMF head

[Robert Weissman]

U.S. President endorses Germany's second choice for IMF head
March 14, 2000
By PAUL AMES=
Associated Press

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) _ Germany won crucial U.S. support and unanimous
European Union backing Monday for its second choice to head the
International Monetary Fund, making it likely that Horst Koehler will get
the job.


U.S. President Bill Clinton, who earlier rejected Germany's first choice,
called German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Monday to offer support for
Koehler, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development,
said White House press secretary Joe Lockhart in Washington.


Washington opposed Germany's first-choice candidate, Caio Koch-Weser, to
head the 182-nation IMF, claiming he lacked the international standing
needed to run an organization that has come to the rescue of troubled
economies in recent years.


Lockhart also said that Clinton and Schroeder agreed that Koehler should
``retain the talented management team at the IMF,'' a move seen as a show
of support for Stanley Fischer, an American who has been the acting IMF
chief since Frenchman Michel Camdessus stepped down in February.


Fischer, too, is a candidate for the top job and had the backing of
African and Middle East countries. Also in the race is former Eisuke
Sakakibara, a former Japanese finance ministry official.


IMF board members are expected to proceed with another straw poll to
confirm the consensus on Koehler's candidacy. If so, then Fisher and
Sakakibara would be expected to drop out of the race.


The Clinton administration has said it will respect an unwritten
arrangement under which the IMF managing director's position goes to a
European, while an American heads the World Bank.


EU finance ministers threw their weight behind the German at their regular
monthly meeting.


``This is a strong candidate, a credible candidate who has shown ... that
he's able to do what's needed,'' said Joaquim Pina Moura, the Portuguese
finance minister who chaired the EU talks.


The EU's swift and unequivocal backing for the latest German choice
contrasted with months of dithering over Koch-Weser when France and
Britain openly shared U.S. doubts about the German's qualifications.


Koehler has won praise during his 18 months running the London-based EBRD,
which channels international aid to the former Soviet bloc. He is also
widely respected in Europe for his role in negotiations leading to the
launch of the euro, the currency shared by 11 EU nations.


Koehler's endorsement by the EU seemed assured over the weekend, when
Italy threw its weight behind the German after failing to muster support
for its own candidate, Treasury Secretary Giuliano Amato.


However, a last-minute threat by the finance minister from Austria's
far-right Freedom Party cast doubt on Koehler's selection. Miffed at an EU
boycott of bilateral contacts with his government, Austria's Karl-Heinz
Grasser warned he could not ``decide anything because I have not been
properly informed.''


A flurry of talks on the margin of the meeting persuaded the Austrians to
go along with Koehler's nomination and Pina Moura declared there had been
``no conflict or crisis.''