Europe still heads IMF

The Europeans got their way. On June 28, a Frenchwoman, Christine Lagarde was named Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. The French Finance Minister replaces her compatriot, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was indicted at the end of May by the New York City prosecutor for sexual aggressing a chamber maid in his hotel. In a punning headline French daily Libération says that “Lagarde takes Strauss-Kahn’s succession,” using the French word ‘suite,’ a reference to both following in succession and the now notorious hotel suite. The paper also notes that -

... the nomination of Christine Lagarde serves as a useful reminder of the power of the eurozone. The Finance Minister didn’t win because she is French but because she symbolises European Monetary Union. Even violently shaken by the debt crisis, the euro is a major player in maintaining the stability, certainly with difficulty, of the global financial system. It’s important that this be stated – in Paris as well as in Washington.