Miami Student

Issue date: 8/31/07 Section: OpEd Page

The truth is that the front runner for the IMF position, a former French politician by the name of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is probably not the most qualified candidate. However, his rejection should be made within the existing structure-as should the promotion of Tosovsky because a nomination of the IMF's director should not be burdened with a suspicion of external motives. The states that are complaining about this selection process are ones that, for the most part, have had disastrous economic policies in the past, such as South Africa and Brazil. These states do not have a gun to their heads to accept IMF or World Bank loans of any type, nor does the acceptance of assistance fate them into a path towards debt. Nations must understand that while the current system is imperfect, participating states still need to prove themselves, including both their economic stability and resiliency, before they can demand structural changes to these central institutions whose very credibility and salience rely upon traditionally tough, conservative policies and autonomous, firm directors willing to implement crucial decisions regardless of their popularity.

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