bloomberg says strauss-kahn's downfall is the opportunity to break tradition in imf leadership

[Hannah Bell]

Yet the most significant consequence of the scandal will be the effect it has on the IMF itself. It has become painfully obvious that giving the top job to a French, German or even British politician who happens to have some spare time on his hands is no longer good enough...

Strauss-Kahn does, of course, remain innocent until proven otherwise. He denies all charges and his lawyer says Strauss- Kahn will plead not guilty. He is entitled to a fair trial, and may yet emerge from this scandal as a free man. Still, it seems unlikely he will remain in office after the case is over, even if he is acquitted. The reality is that the IMF will need a new managing director. John Lipsky, who is filling in for Strauss- Kahn, is due to leave his post as deputy at the end of August.

Tradition states that a European gets the job. More often than not, it goes to someone French. Normally, they are former bankers, finance ministers or policy makers. There won’t be any shortage of candidates in that mold. Christine Lagarde, the French finance minister, has already been linked to the job. So has Axel Weber, the former Bundesbank chief. Former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown would love to run the IMF, though it seems unlikely he will secure the support of the British government...

The IMF now needs a new kind of leader. The top job should no longer be a consolation prize for someone who missed out on running the European Central Bank. It also shouldn’t be a stepping stone to the French presidency. Or an alternative to the golf course for defeated prime ministers. It should be the summit of a career, and not something you add to your resume on the way to something bigger. There will never be a more important time to overhaul the IMF’s leadership culture....

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-17/strauss-kahn-s-downfall-is-chance-for-imf-renewal-matthew-lynn.html

[liberal N proud]

1. As I watch this story unfold, I wonder, who did he piss off?

These arrogant assholes walk around the world and take liberties as they desire and in nearly every case walk away as if nothing happened while their victims lives are destroyed.

This POS was one of the most powerful slobs in the world and he is being taken down. Who did he piss off to allow this victim to get her story told? In the game of the World Order, Strauss-Kahn has just been checked and mated.

[Hannah Bell]

2. me too. which is why i posted the article from bloomberg's personal propaganda

outlet about how the imf leadership needs to be changed.

i always figure they're often talking to each other through their propaganda outlets, not us.

[seabeyond]

4. just why didnt our police allow this man to walk away from an assault. it is his privilege to

assault a woman if he chooses.

[liberal N proud]

6. The point is that they get to in many cases

Powerful people always seem to get away with what ever crime they perpetrate. The fact that this guy didn't get diplomatic immunity is amazing.

When people like this get caught and have to face the consequences, I always look deeper to see why they suddenly and finally are paying the price.

[sufrommich]

7. Waiving immunity:

Sometimes when a diplomat is accused of a serious offence, his or her government will waive immunity, allowing a prosecution to go ahead.

Mr Kurbalija says that Mr Strauss-Kahn has tacitly waived his own immunity, by submitting to forensic tests and stating his intention to fight the case.

Formally, the decision to waive Mr Strauss-Kahn's immunity rests with the IMF itself, he says, not with Mr Strauss-Kahn as an individual.

"An individual cannot waive his or her immunity - but if he decides to waive his immunity, it will be just a formality from the IMF," Mr Kurbalija says.

But Mr Strauss-Kahn could choose to invoke his diplomatic immunity in future, he says - and this could confront the IMF with a more difficult decision.

The IMF has so far given no clue about its position on the question.

Although Mr Strauss-Kahn was visited on Saturday by the French consul general, an unnamed French official also told Le Monde that any immunity was a matter for the IMF and the US. "To me, there is no immunity," the official said. "His Frenchness is not at stake."

Mr Strauss-Kahn's apparent decision to fight the case echoes an earlier episode where he chose to tackle a legal problem head-on.

In 1999, he resigned as France's minister of economy and finance, to focus on his defence against an accusation that he backdated documents to justify his consultancy fees for work on a student health insurance fund.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13412092

[seabeyond]

8. well, you hve france and its media making him the victim, to feel sympathy for, to joke at expense

of the woman assaulted.

yea for u.s. cops

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[Obamanaut]

5. 'rec' this response, but 'unrec' the thread because I had the same question. nt