ECONOMY
EU candidates for IMF job narrowed down to three
July 30, 2019 - The search for a European candidate to replace Christine Lagarde at the helm of the International Monetary Fund has narrowed down to three candidates ahead of a Sept 6 deadline.
Candidates still in the race are Jeroen Dijsselbloem, former Dutch finance minister; Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgarian chief executive of the World Bank; and Olli Rehn, a former Finnish EU commissioner for the economy and current head of Finland’s central bank.
European nationals, mainly French, have dominated the leadership of the fund as part of an informal agreement where a U.S. national takes the helm at the World Bank.
But Europe’s negotiations have been bogged down by divisions between southern and northern eurozone countries which have objected to the next managing director coming from opposing camps.
The application process closes September 6, with the board intending to complete the process by October 4.
The IMF lends to troubled economies and played a crucial role in the eurozone crisis, as part of the so-called troika – of the IMF, European Central Bank and European commission – that oversaw bailouts of Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Cyprus.