Changing global economic context could decide future choice of IMF head

WHETHER termed multinational or supranational, all international institutions are beholden to some extent to the national governments that own them and this is something to be borne in mind as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) sets about selecting a new managing director (MD) now.

The selection process is technically "merit-based" nowadays whereas for most of the 70 years of IMF history it has been tacitly accepted that Europe would nominate the MD - if not irrespective of merit then certainly from a smaller catchment area than the world as a whole could yield.

Nevertheless, it would be naive to assume that sheer size and political muscle of nominating countries will not play a strong role in deciding who succeeds current managing director Christine Lagarde when her term expires in June - or whether she is appointed for a second term.