How can the head of the IMF be a socialist?

[DutchLiberal]

Today, not only did I find out that Strauss-Kahn is being charged with a rape attempt, but also that he is a socialist. The French Socialist Party wanted him to run as their candidate in the next presidential elections. They also said that current president Sarkozy, of the right-wing party, had started a smear campaign against Strauss-Kahn.

The IMF's agenda is one of neo-liberalism, deregulation, privatization, dismantling the welfare state, lowering wages, lowering taxes on business... all this supposedly to 'stimulate economic growth'; a tactic which has proved disastrous for our global economy and sometimes almost ruined entire countries, like Argentina (until they decided to break with IMF's policies and go the socialist route). Now the IMF is force-feeding this recipe to the Greeks.

So what does the label 'socialist' mean in this case? What does this say about the French Socialist Party? Normally, I would cheer for them in elections and hope they would defeat Sarkozy's right-wing party and Le Pen's extremist party. But now I wonder: how can you be left-wing if your candidate run the IMF?

Somebody would like to share their thoughts and perspectives?

[malaise]

1. I am still shaking my head at the use of the term

socialist to describe the neo-liberal don. :evilgrin:

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. The thing to do is look at his appointment

He was a socialist years before he joined the IMF (being clear this is mainstream European socialism - perhaps 'social democracy' might help as the phrase).

The decision by the 24-member IMF board was a formality after Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, last week endorsed Mr Strauss-Kahn’s candidacy saying that he would “make the bold reforms necessary to lead a strong and relevant fund into the future”.

Mr Strauss-Kahn has pledged to push through greater representation for developing countries in the IMF’s complex shareholding structure, which is largely based on member countries’ economic weighting in dollar prices. Many European countries, which together control 32 per cent of the shareholding, have resisted dilution of their weighting.
...
Last month, Russia surprised many by endorsing the candidacy of Josef Tosovsky, a former prime minister of the Czech Republic, claiming Mr Strauss-Kahn lacked the qualifications necessary to restore the fund’s legitimacy. However, Russia’s move failed to enthuse the large developing countries.

But many are hoping that Mr Strauss-Kahn, who has a forceful political reputation, will have the ability to persuade smaller European countries to agree to governance reforms. The IMF share-holders meet this month for the fund’s annual meeting.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/35e8d3a8-6de7-11dc-b8ab-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz1MQyZ1YtV

Strauss-Kahn's candidacy was first proposed by the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy in July and the campaign soon gained momentum with the support of the EU, which collectively holds 32.09 percent of IMF voting rights, and the US, the single largest contributor with 16.83 percent.

With the campaign nearing its potentially successful conclusion, Russia, which holds 2.70 percent, put forward Tosovsky, who currently heads the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, claiming that he had wide support in the developing world.

However, the lending of additional support by Brazil, Argentina, India and a certain number of other large, emerging countries gave the Strauss-Kahn campaign its winning momentum in the days leading up to Friday's vote.
...
The man himself has pledged to implement reforms that will restore the legitimacy of the institution, continue those aimed at giving emerging economies a bigger stake in the fund's voting power and to strengthen the IMF's monitoring of a changing global economy, where countries like China had a bigger role.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2801510,00.html

It seems he was appointed to reform it, and pull it away from neo-liberalism.

[DutchLiberal]

3. You think Sarkozy proposed him to move the IMF away from neo-liberalism?

Why would a right-wing politician do that?

I can't say Strauss-Kahn has done anything to reform the IMF, as we're seeing now in Greece.