Three times unlucky for hapless IMF

SOMETHING is going badly wrong in relations between Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) managing director, and the staff of the institution. Three times in July, in politically fraught negotiations over a Greek debt package, the IMF staff has disavowed its management over providing more loans to Greece as part of the third bailout deal of 82-86 billion euros (S$123.9-130 billion) that euro leaders stated they sealed on July 13.

As Oscar Wilde might have said, to show one such contradiction might be a misfortune, two appears like carelessness, while three looks downright hapless.

The fissures, as well as reinforcing uncertainty over the Greek imbroglio, cast doubt on Ms Lagarde's utility in attending European debt meetings, where she appears to endorse decisions later rejected in Washington. The bizarre nature of IMF divisions may influence a top-level government decision about whether to renew Ms Lagarde's five-year term at the Fund that ends in July 2016. Although Ms Lagarde has some support for her incumbency, she is coming under criticism from inside and outside the organisation for displaying style rather than substance.