President Bush spells it out. “I do think it’d be good to have an American run the bank”. He said this to the BBC in response to questions about whether Tony Blair could get the job. Mr Bush added that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is in charge of the search for Mr Wolfowitz’s successor, and will compile a short list for the president.

The Dutch executive director at the World Bank, who led the committee that completed the report on the Wolfowitz Fiasco, and the Dutch Development Minister, who has been one of the more outspoken officials calling for an open process to select the next WB president, spoke to the Dutch media, as reported in English in an article from South African Press Agency (SAPA). Continue reading →

Here is an updated list of all candidates mentioned in the press to replace Wolfowitz as head of the World Bank Group. Continue reading →

Writing in Kenya’s The Nation, Makau Mutua makes some compelling points. Slamming European hypocrisy, the writer calls for an end to Western control of the World Bank and IMF and a set of internal governance reforms that goes far beyond the leadership selection. Continue reading →

Many of you will remember that Bill Clinton got some backing in 2005 as a potentially clever bi-partisan World Bank president appointment. This time he has had less mention. But now the former US president is back in the frame. Courtesy of … The Canberra Times. Continue reading →