Schröder backs Wolfowitz for World Bank
By Andrew Balls in Washington and Bertrand Benoit in Berlin
Published: March 21 2005 18:41 | Last updated: March 21 2005 18:41
Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, on Monday said he would support the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as new head of the World Bank, in effect ruling out any concerted European opposition to his appointment.
European officials have complained in private about President George W. Bush's nomination last week of the US deputy defence secretary and about the lack of proper consultation on the matter.
Academics, development experts and campaign groups have protested about Mr Wolfowitz's nomination and lack of opposition from Europe.
Mr Wolfowitz is expected to be confirmed at a World Bank board meeting on March 31.
By convention, the US and Europe divide the top jobs at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, whose boards they dominate.
There has been little opposition to Mr Wolfowitz from the developing countries on the bank's board, in contrast to last year's controversial appointment of Rodrigo Rato at the IMF.
?It's good custom that the US has the right to propose a nominee,? Mr Schröder said in a television interview.
He said he had talked to Mr Bush shortly after the nomination was made public and assured him Germany would not seek to undermine it. He said critics would be ?perhaps positively surprised? by Mr Wolfowitz's future performance.
While other German officials have expressed concern, Mr Schröder's conciliatory approach underlines Berlin's wish not to antagonise the US after a tentative rapprochement earlier this year, following their bitter dispute over the Iraq war.
Germany is also courting US support for its bid to secure a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
Similarly, while French officials have been irritated by the nomination, diplomats say that Paris is unlikely to want to antagonise Washington at a time when it was pushing its own nationals for jobs at international institutions, including the head of the World Trade Organisation.
The UK last week was the first European country openly to back Mr Wolfowitz, though Gordon Brown, chancellor of the exchequer, has called for the US to discuss the appointment with developing countries.
The European Commission on Monday confirmed that Mr Wolfowitz had agreed to meet Louis Michel, development commissioner. World Bank staff raised concerns about the selection process, Mr Wolfowitz's role in the Iraq war and his credentials for the job, with James Wolfensohn, the bank's outgoing president, last week. Mr Wolfowitz told Dow Jones news agency: ?I am not there to re-fight the war; I am there to get on with a different job. They will find me open-minded and capable of understanding difficult and complex arguments.?
Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Brussels
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1f0b6fe0-9a38-11d9-a094-00000e2511c8.html
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Canada Welcomes Wolfowitz's World Bank Nomination
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada welcomes the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as the head of the World Bank, a spokesman for the Department of Finance said on Monday.
"Canada welcomes the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for the post of president of the World Bank. Mr. Wolfowitz is a very serious and credible candidate. Until such time as nominations are put forward we are unable to comment further," he said.
($1-$1.21 Canadian)
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/sto...785997&dt=20050321134500&w=RTR&coview=
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Even the people who oppose us on many issues back Wolfowitz. It seems he's a legitimate choice .
By Andrew Balls in Washington and Bertrand Benoit in Berlin
Published: March 21 2005 18:41 | Last updated: March 21 2005 18:41
Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor, on Monday said he would support the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as new head of the World Bank, in effect ruling out any concerted European opposition to his appointment.
European officials have complained in private about President George W. Bush's nomination last week of the US deputy defence secretary and about the lack of proper consultation on the matter.
Academics, development experts and campaign groups have protested about Mr Wolfowitz's nomination and lack of opposition from Europe.
Mr Wolfowitz is expected to be confirmed at a World Bank board meeting on March 31.
By convention, the US and Europe divide the top jobs at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, whose boards they dominate.
There has been little opposition to Mr Wolfowitz from the developing countries on the bank's board, in contrast to last year's controversial appointment of Rodrigo Rato at the IMF.
?It's good custom that the US has the right to propose a nominee,? Mr Schröder said in a television interview.
He said he had talked to Mr Bush shortly after the nomination was made public and assured him Germany would not seek to undermine it. He said critics would be ?perhaps positively surprised? by Mr Wolfowitz's future performance.
While other German officials have expressed concern, Mr Schröder's conciliatory approach underlines Berlin's wish not to antagonise the US after a tentative rapprochement earlier this year, following their bitter dispute over the Iraq war.
Germany is also courting US support for its bid to secure a permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.
Similarly, while French officials have been irritated by the nomination, diplomats say that Paris is unlikely to want to antagonise Washington at a time when it was pushing its own nationals for jobs at international institutions, including the head of the World Trade Organisation.
The UK last week was the first European country openly to back Mr Wolfowitz, though Gordon Brown, chancellor of the exchequer, has called for the US to discuss the appointment with developing countries.
The European Commission on Monday confirmed that Mr Wolfowitz had agreed to meet Louis Michel, development commissioner. World Bank staff raised concerns about the selection process, Mr Wolfowitz's role in the Iraq war and his credentials for the job, with James Wolfensohn, the bank's outgoing president, last week. Mr Wolfowitz told Dow Jones news agency: ?I am not there to re-fight the war; I am there to get on with a different job. They will find me open-minded and capable of understanding difficult and complex arguments.?
Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Brussels
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1f0b6fe0-9a38-11d9-a094-00000e2511c8.html
----------------
Canada Welcomes Wolfowitz's World Bank Nomination
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada welcomes the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as the head of the World Bank, a spokesman for the Department of Finance said on Monday.
"Canada welcomes the nomination of Paul Wolfowitz for the post of president of the World Bank. Mr. Wolfowitz is a very serious and credible candidate. Until such time as nominations are put forward we are unable to comment further," he said.
($1-$1.21 Canadian)
http://cnn.netscape.cnn.com/ns/news/sto...785997&dt=20050321134500&w=RTR&coview=
-------------
Even the people who oppose us on many issues back Wolfowitz. It seems he's a legitimate choice .
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