The flurry of changes in Washington is not going to end anytime soon. Besides nominating new secretaries of state and agriculture, a new national security adviser, and filling other top-level positions, President George W. Bush will soon turn his eye to the World Bank. While it may not have the muscle of the Department of Defense, the World Bank nevertheless yields considerable power over the economic and social policies of countries around the world and is one of the most vocal forces in fighting poverty. Led by James Wolfensohn, the World Bank has provided $20.1 billion for projects in developing countries in 2004 and currently employs 9,300 people.
"It's like a gigantic ship," says Nancy Birdsall, president of the Washington-based Center for Global Development and co-author of a 2003 paper titled "Why It Matters Who Runs the World Bank and the IMF." "It's very hard to turn it, but, when it gets turned, it makes a very big difference."
In the coming weeks or months, the ship may have a new skipper -- though not if Wolfensohn has his way. Bush will appoint a new World Bank president in 2005, and it's known that Bush would like to make a change if for no other reason than his bias against retaining anyone appointed by Bill Clinton. But Wolfensohn is fighting hard to keep his post.
Officially, Wolfensohn "remains focused on the agenda we have in front of us," says World Bank spokesman Damian Milverton. In November, the 70-year-old Wolfensohn was off to Kazakhstan and India. In December, though, he'll look at his options, according to Washington Post columnist Sebastian Mallaby, author of the recently published book The World's Banker: A Story of Failed States, Financial Crises, and the Wealth and Poverty of Nations.
Wolfensohn's hero is former World Bank President Robert McNamara, who turned the institution around during his tenure, from April 1968 to July 1981, by giving "impassioned speeches and cranking out anti-poverty rhetoric," says Mallaby. Wolfensohn, who was appointed by Clinton in 1995 and is now reaching the end of his second five-year term, admired McNamara's approach and tried to maintain the bank's focus on fighting poverty. During his own presidency, Wolfensohn moved roughly 40 percent of the World Bank's employees from its Washington headquarters to offices in developing countries. He also oversaw the creation of hundreds of anti-corruption and governance programs in approximately 100 countries that are designed to root out crooked officials who undermine the World Bank's objectives (often by stealing the cash).
Fighting poverty and corruption aren't the only reasons Wolfensohn wants to stay on board: The financier, cellist (who has played at Carnegie Hall), and former Kennedy Center chair -- who is, according to Mallaby, "incredibly pleased and puffed out about being on the world stage" -- is reluctant to give up his prominent post. How will he make a case for another term?
"He'll say, 'Look, I've got a lot of support in European capitals.' He will argue that he has personal friendships among world leaders, and he could say, 'I've been going to West Bank and Gaza for ten years, and I have relationships there.' Further, he'll sweeten the deal by saying, 'I'll only serve half a term,'" says Mallaby.
It's a tough manuever.
"It certainly wouldn't be surprising if the administration decides to put someone in there who is ideologically closer to the views of Bush," says Birdsall.
If he loses, there's another McNamara-in-the-making: Colin Powell, who has been mentioned as a possible successor at the World Bank and -- now that he's been booted from his State Department job -- is available. Other names include Bill Clinton (not very likely); Charles Schwab; John Taylor, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for international affairs; and trade negotiator Robert B. Zoellick.
Tara McKelvey is a senior editor at The American Prospect.
