Even before Dominique Strauss-Kahn announced from New York’s Riker’s
Island prison on Wednesday that he was stepping down as head of the
International Monetary Fund , world powers were already jostling
over who could replace him.
Indeed, since Strauss-Kahn’s arrest last Saturday on charges of
attempted rape, European officials have been swift to argue that
Europe should maintain the hold it has had on the IMF’s top job ever
since the Washington D.C.-based organization was created in 1945.
Europeans, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, say the IMF’s
key role in crafting bailout packages for indebted euro zone countries
means the job should remain in their hands for the time being.
