A World Bank insider's thoughts on a new Bank president

Posted By David Bosco Monday, January 23, 2012 - 8:12 AM Share

A World Bank source sent along some impressions of the talk within the institution about the coming selection of a new Bank president:

On the inside, it's surprising how open everyone is about [current president Robert] Zoellick not being around much longer -- even in his senior meetings people are speaking about the forthcoming 'transition'.  Having said this, there is a minority view that until he is reasonably confident that the eventual Republican nominee has a reasonable shot at winning, he will just stay put.  Regarding Larry Summers, there is now a lot of corridor talk, but people can't believe it's serious -- the NGOs would be all over him after his earlier gaffes at the Bank (famous memo on shipping nuclear waste to developing countries because they have a comparative advantage in absorbing waste) and his gender comments at Harvard.  So I'd say a majority is still watching to see whether Hillary C. comes forward.  Recent talk though seems to suggest that Hillary may swap with Biden to strengthen voter turn-out for the Obama re-election campaign -- in which case the Summers story may become more credible.

More: An informed reader is perplexed by the complacency of the World Bank staff in the face of the opaque selection process--and wonders if it doesn't have to do with U.S. political allegiances:

What surprises me is that the World Bank staff aren't questioning the selection process more. The inside source seems to say that staff aren't calling for a new leadership selection process. Last time around the Bank's Staff Association was instrumental in forcing Wolfowitz to resign through constant pressure, letters, organisation, and activism on what became known as TCS [The Current Situation]. The staff could be very influential.

So what is keeping them in their place? Over at the IMF it wasn't surprising that a staff with a plurality of people from Europe weren't going to be very loud about breaking the habit of a European in charge. But the Bank does not have that many US citizens as staff... Could it be that the staff actually longs for a US Democratic appointee? Not that this would placate Congress much, but would it be more in line with most staff opinion - firmly in the new Democratic camp?

 

KAREN HUDES

10:10 AM ET

January 23, 2012

Robert Zoellick's Choice

Robert Zoellick was responsible for losing the 66 year old Gentlemen's Agreement for appointment by the US of the World Bank President and Zoellick's choices at this moment are neither brilliant nor even particularly relevant. We are simply waiting to see whether it is the SEC, the 50 states' attorneys general, the Board of Governors, or the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions, or all four, that bring the World Bank into compliance on the Capital markets despite Zoellick.

 

GRANT

4:27 PM ET

January 23, 2012

That agreement was hardly

That agreement was hardly something the U.S could permanently set in stone.

 

KAREN HUDES

5:58 PM ET

January 23, 2012

Gentlemen's Agreement for US appointment of World Bank Pres.

Which is exactly what I warned the US Treasury Department and US Congress in 2007: that an accurate stakeholder analysis predicted in 2004 the US would lose the Gentlemen's Agreement if the US President of the World Bank continued to abuse his authority and break the law.

 

PCHOWLA

7:56 AM ET

January 24, 2012

Where is the staff association? Or staff outrage?

This is an interesting comment from the staff. More of this sort of thing will be appearing over on www.worldbankpresident.org where the debate about the WB leadership has already started.

What surprises me is that the World Bank staff aren't questioning the selection process more. The inside source seems to say that staff aren't calling for a new leadership selection process. Last time around the Bank's Staff Association was instrumental in forcing Wolfowitz to resign through constant pressure, letters, organisation, and activism on what became known as TCS [The Current Situation]. The staff could be very influential.

So what is keeping them in their place? Over at the IMF it wasn't surprising that a staff with a plurality of people from Europe weren't going to be very loud about breakinhg the habit of a European in charge. But the Bank does not have that many US citizens as staff... Could it be that the staff actually longs for a US Democratic appointee? Not that this would placate Congress much, but would it be more in line with most staff opinion - firmly in the new Democratic camp?

 

KAREN HUDES

10:16 AM ET

January 24, 2012

Retaliation and Intimidation of Staff

After hearings on accounting irregularities at the World Bank, including cost over-runs on the renovation of the World Bank's headquarters and over-charges to World Bank borrowers, the US Congress required independent arbitration to protect whistleblowers. 22 U.S.C. §262o-4 The World Bank did not implement the Lugar Leahy Amendment. The World Bank's retaliation against whistleblowers and the Administrative Tribunal's kangaroo court intimidate staff. Here is the Staff Association's statement of support when I was illegally fired: "The Staff Association firmly believes that the integrity of the Bank depends in large part upon its willingness to comply with the terms of agreements it has reached with staff members. Violations of a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU"), as alleged by Ms. Hudes, not only undermine the credibility of this institution but damage the morale of its workforce. This impact is particularly harmful when the MOU is intended to address retaliation against an individual who has reported suspected misconduct to the Bank's officers. Violating such an agreement invariably deters other staff members from advising their superiors of wrongdoing." The Staff Association's lawyer and ethics officer left the Bank shortly after this Statement of Support.

 

MACFORMEN

6:34 PM ET

February 20, 2012

Local groups

there are still not 75 local groups prepared to force a vote, of no confidence in the leadership? I really thought this was the conference for it.

Seems Westminster village is so lost in it's internal power games it's given up listening to people on the doorstep. I suppose it's helped by knowing that none of the parties appeal to the majority of the population and they're fighting for a diminishing number of voters who're prepared to turn out to support their least worst option.

Remember when this was the conference of those looking for a new direction in politics?

 

ROBERTSONDOLAN

4:54 AM ET

February 22, 2012

What surprises me is that the

What surprises me is that the World Bank staff aren't questioning the selection process more. The inside source seems to say that staff aren't calling for a new leadership selection process. Last time around the Bank's Staff Association was instrumental in forcing Wolfowitz to resign through realestate constant pressure, letters, organization, and activism on what became known as TCS [The Current Situation]. The staff could be very influential.

 

David Bosco reports on the new world order for The Multilateralist.

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