EDITORIAL: New World Bank chief (Asahi Shimbun)

[struggle4progress]

<snip> U.S. President George W. Bush announced two contentious nominations last week. After naming Undersecretary of State John Bolton, a leading hawk in the Bush administration, as his choice to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Bush nominated Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, another hard-liner and one of the masterminds of the Iraq war, to head the World Bank. <snip>

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apparently offered his support for Bush's nominations immediately. But Japan, as a major contributor to both organizations, should have taken this opportunity to try to enlist U.S. support for further reforms rather than just give blanket backing to the nominations.

As economic globalization advances, there is growing criticism that the U.S. government and the World Bank are working together to impose the American model of a free-market economy on uncompetitive developing countries. If the next World Bank chief creates the impression among developing countries that it is more interested in spreading American-model of democracy than in helping their economic development, the credibility of the organization that has been built up over decades will collapse overnight. <snip>

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200503220082.html