Europe tries to keep the Wolf at bay
By Sanjay Suri

LONDON - In a reflection of Europe's discomfiture with US President George W Bush's nomination of Paul Wolfowitz to replace James Wolfensohn as the president of the World Bank, European members on the board of the multilateral funding agency may seek to interview the candidate separately for the job.

"The Europeans want to interview him by themselves and not inside the board," Reuters news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying. The decision was apparently made at a meeting by European board representatives, including Germany, France and Italy, to discuss President Bush's endorsement of his deputy defense secretary and a prime mover for the war on Iraq as the next World Bank president.

The 25-member European Union has between its member states a larger percentage of the vote than the United States. Britain and France have, for example, 4.3% each, and Germany 4.49%. With about 30% of the vote, the EU has almost twice as many votes as the US's 16%. But the EU is not a single voting bloc on the World Bank board. And traditionally the appointment of the World Bank head has come by consensus, never having been put to the vote.

"I don't believe the EU can block this," said Greg Austin, research director of think-tank Foreign Policy Centre in London. "It will be difficult for EU member states to politically come together, and there won't be a firm EU position on this."

That would make a virtual certainty of the appointment as World Bank chief a political figure many see as more likely to take out a country like Somalia than to take poverty out of it. But while EU countries are unlikely to make any move to block Wolfowitz, the nomination has brought together European powers together in silent grumbling over the move by the Bush administration. For once Britain, Germany and France seem to be talking in the same language over the curious choice.

The response from Britain, the only significant ally the Bush administration found in Iraq, was far from welcoming. Prime Minister Tony Blair would "wait and see if there are any other candidates", his spokeswoman told reporters. "We are looking forward to hearing Mr Wolfowitz's views on a number of issues," the spokeswoman said. Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) Gordon Brown was equally evasive: "It's a nomination, there will be a discussion and it will go to a meeting of the World Bank development committee."

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said France would "look equally at other candidates". Wolfowitz had said around the time of the Iraq invasion that France should "pay some consequences" for its opposition to the Iraq invasion, and particularly for its veto of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) support for Turkey in the event of a conflict. "The French have behaved in ways ... that have been very damaging to NATO," he had said before the Senate Armed Services Committee. "I think France is going to pay some consequences, not just with us but with other countries who view it that way."

German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul pointed out that "the enthusiasm in old Europe is not exactly overwhelming". The expression "old Europe" was used by US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to describe Germany and France in their opposition to the invasion of Iraq two years ago. Rumsfeld and his deputy Wolfowitz are pillars of the neo-conservative structure within the Bush administration.

EU countries seem to be preparing to challenge the appointment in debates within the World Bank governing body, if not put their opposition to the vote. Analysts believe that major EU countries will engage in active diplomatic talks ahead of the discussions in the World Bank on the appointment. They are expected also to engage in talks with leading developing countries. On their part, developing countries are said to be discussing among themselves the possibility of presenting their own nominee to oppose the tradition of an American heading the World Bank and a European the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Bank has an annual budget of US$9 billion for tackling poverty in the developing world - not the kind of activity or interests Wolfowitz has been known for. But Foreign Policy Centre's Austin said Wolfowitz might surprise his critics. "People who know Wolfowitz see him as a credible candidate," he said. "They have a high opinion of him."

Wolfowitz is likely to take a tougher view than his predecessor on what to do with World Bank money, Austin said. "The US has been concerned over the continued flow of money to governments who have made no move to rein in corruption," he said. "There will now be a change of emphasis in World Bank policy."

But this could be the beginning of yet another trans-Atlantic rift, with Britain aligned with France and Germany this time. Britain has declared a fight against poverty the cornerstone of its presidency of the Group of Eight (G8) - the US, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia) this year. The World Bank is a key instrument in any global fight against poverty.

Wolfowitz's adviser Kevin Kellems said Wolfowitz telephoned Irish rockstar Bono on Thursday, evidently in a bid to polish up his image on the poverty front. The leader of the U2 rock group, who campaigns for African aid and debt relief, was favored by some quarters for the World Bank presidency. Bono's endorsement could make life a lot easier for Wolfowitz.

(Inter Press Service)