Lagarde As Next IMF Boss “Done Deal”: Rival

Christine Lagarde, who has been touring prominent developing nations to solidify her efforts to become the next chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is apparently a shoe-in for the post, according to a rival for the top job.

Grigori Marchenko, the governor of Kazakhstan central bank, told the British newspaper Daily Telegraph, that Lagarde’s triumph for the IMF directorate is a “done deal.”

There's a lot of information coming from different sources which is implying that there's agreement between G8 countries about support for Madame Lagarde, and if countries which together have more than 60 percent of the vote have agreed to support one candidate, then it's more or less a done deal, Marchenko told the paper.

Marchenko also suggested that the G8 nations may have had their eye on placing Lagarde at the IMF post even before rape charges in New York prompted the sudden resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The former IMF managing director was expected to quit in post in July anyway in order to campaign to be France’s next president.

Whether this deal was reached several months ago, or whether it was reached in May in Deauville in France, it's pretty clear the deal has been reached, Marchenko stated.

Marchenko, who was the favored candidate of the former Soviet-bloc nations, admitted his chances of getting the job was torpedoed when the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) could not agree on one candidate.

Another thing that's clear, and sad, is that developing countries are not in a position to come up with a single candidate, he said. If developing nations unite around a single candidate, I would be more than happy to support him or her. This whole thing is not based around my own personal ambition.

Marchenko suggested that he might have been good compromise candidate for Russia, India and China.

The reasoning behind our candidacy was that Kazakhstan is a neutral country which is borders both Russia and China, and maybe a candidate from Kazakhstan could be accepted as a trade-off, especially as we also have good relationships with India, he said.

The official nomination process for the IMF position closes tomorrow. A new boss will be chosen by the end of the month.