BRICS release joint statement on IMF selection process
The representatives of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on the International Monetary Fund’s executive board have released a joint statement, insisting on a "merit-based" process for selecting the organization’s new chief: We believe that, if the Fund is to have credibility and legitimacy, its Managing Director should be selected after broad consultation with ...
The representatives of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on the International Monetary Fund's executive board have released a joint statement, insisting on a "merit-based" process for selecting the organization's new chief:
The representatives of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on the International Monetary Fund’s executive board have released a joint statement, insisting on a "merit-based" process for selecting the organization’s new chief:
We believe that, if the Fund is to have credibility and legitimacy, its Managing Director should be selected after broad consultation with the membership. It should result in the most competent person being appointed as Managing Director, regardless of his or her nationality. We also believe that adequate representation of emerging market and developing members in the Fund’s management is critical to its legitimacy and effectiveness.
The next Managing Director of the Fund should not only be a strongly qualified person, with solid technical background and political acumen, but also a person that is committed to continuing the process of change and reform of the institution so as to adapt it to the new realities of the world economy.
Boiled down, the BRICS view appears to be this: We want an open, merit-based process, but a key determinant of merit is whether an individual can help the institution adapt to the changing world economy. As assertive as this statement is, it leaves plenty of room for negotiation. The statement’s reference to Fund "management" rather than just to the position of managing director may signal that the BRICS are willing to accept a European in the top slot if they’re compensated with other positions in the upper ranks.
David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist
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