The right (wing) man for the World Bank job

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WASHINGTON - With US President George W Bush nominating Robert Zoellick to succeed World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz, who steps down on June 30, speculation has been cut short about a process that saw dozens of names floated to be the next leader of the international public lender, now reeling from an ethics scandal.

"Bob Zoellick is the right man to succeed Paul in this vital work," Bush said on Wednesday.

After the announcement, Zoellick, a Wall Street executive, former administration official and a free-market fundamentalist, pledged to work to restore confidence in the bank.

Revelations that Wolfowitz had given his girlfriend and colleague Shaha Riza an unauthorized pay raise had led to calls from bank staff, international economists and many countries for Wolfowitz' ouster.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/IF01Dj01.html

[Rydz777]

1. Zoellick: "a free market fundamentalist." This is code for the

fact that as our trade representative his deals with the Chinese and others were always "compromises" in which we got the short end of the stick. In his recent interview with Charlie Rose, Zoellick boasted about how he smoozed with the Chinese trade reps crafting agreements that no one but they themselves (wink, wink) could understand.

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2. "When we hang the capitalists they will sell us the rope we use."

A quote from Stalin, who ought to know.

[Demeter]

3. If Bush Thinks He's Got the Right Man, That's Good Enough For Me

to assume that Zoellick is the next worst possible choice for the position, after Wolfie.