The Treasury Department has issued a press release documenting nominee Bob Zoellick’s peripatetic visits to Africa, Europe and Latin America on a ‘charm surge’ to meet with Bank stakeholders. After his words about the need for healing, what is conspicuous by its absence is any meeting with Bank staff during his 15 day trip, which is being cofinanced by US taxpayers and his own frequent flyer points.

It perhaps behooves Mr. Zoellick and his handlers to indicate when he will talk to Bank staff and management, who need to get a measure of the man and whether his leadership skills and management style are an upgrade from what the world has put up with for these last two long years. He also needs to confirm whether he has some outsiders coming with him to the Bank, and what exactly they will be helping with.

It is surprising that the global NGOs who have raised concerns about his old jobs (advocating for protected farmers, global trade liberalization, Big Pharma, and Goldman Sachs) have not sought time on his agenda.

Presumably there is lots of time between his return and the Board’s interviews and formal consideration of his nomination (and any others) for him to meet with Bank staff and civil society to answer their questions and show he has “the right stuff” to be World Bank President.

When will the rest of his schedule be announced?

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Steve Clemons on The Washington Note blog writes that “Zoellick was one of the ‘heroes’ who got the US government to sign on to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change signed in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Zoellick headed the US effort and was the guide for EPA Administrator William Reilly through that effort. Clemons adds that he has spoken with “a number of environmental leaders at organisations such as the World Resources Institute who have said that Zoellick has been actively engaged with them – from the early 1990s up until now”. Cue that panda photo.

A week after getting the nod from the White House, Zoellick is embarking on a Worldwide goodwill tour :“I want to leave no stone unturned in showing people I am serious,” as reported by FoxNews. Surprisingly, he is not going to Asia after travelling to Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa, Britain, France, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Mexico and Brazil. Continue reading →

South Africa’s Independent Online reports that Chilean president Michelle Bachelet criticised the decision by the US administration to nominate yet another American to head the World Bank as “grotesque”. South African president Thabo Mbeki is also quoted as saying at the International Monetary Conference (a gathering of the world’s top officials from private and central banks) on the weekend that “future appointments should be made using an open and transparent selection process with candidates not restricted by nationality.” Continue reading →

Lawrence MacDonald at the Center for Global Development has some insightful questions for Bob Zoellick. Among them (mine are the abridged versions): Will you oppose U.S. subsidies and the enforcemet of Intellectual Property Rights for lifesaving medicines? Will you go continue moving the Bank’s health sector towards Bush’s inane abstinence only policies? Continue reading →