Palestinian P.M. Backs Bank of Israel Chief for IMF Post
J.J. Goldberg June 12, 2011
Haaretz reports that the Palestinian Authority prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is endorsing the governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer, to be the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
Fayyad says Fischer would make a “great managing director” for the world financial body and that he is a “superb human being.”
The P,A, does not participate in the selection process, but Fayyad said if he had a vote, he would cast it for Fischer.
Fayyad, an economist trained in the United States and former senior IMF official, told The Associated Press on Sunday that he has known Fischer for two decades, since the two worked together at the IMF.
Fischer’s main advantage is that the two leading candidates, Christine Lagarde of France and Agustin Carstens, are generally unappealing. His main snag (though not the only one) is the likely opposition of Arab countries. Could this make a difference? Maybe.
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