Letters: Look to the East

This refers to the article “It’s Europe vs Brics” (May 26). The resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn has left a vacuum in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). And now the top job in IMF is up for grabs. Many names are being proposed. Christine Lagarde of France happens to be the front runner for the position. Gordon Brown, Stanley Fischer – the governor of the Bank of Israel – and Agustin Carstens of Mexico are also in the race.

Though one is free to offer choices and make wild guesses, there are a few things that need to be borne in mind before the next head of IMF is chosen.

First, the West is no longer supreme when we consider the present geopolitical scenario. Now, it is the East that has assumed an important place in international politics, with China at the forefront. And, the power shift is likely to head to Africa after China. Thus, selecting another European or an American for IMF’s top job would be a travesty and will not represent the ground reality.

Second, a little bit of knowledge of local politics is a must. A pure economist would be a statistician who would not understand the political interplay between different countries. We have enough non-American and non-European academicians and economists who could be considered for the job. Raghuram Rajan would be a good example. He is young and has the capability to deal with politicians of various nationalities. Then, there is Montek Singh Ahluwalia. His candidature should be considered seriously.

More qualified than all of them would be Subramanian Swamy, the visiting professor on Economics at Harvard University. Swamy is astute in handling political people and has kept a clean record.

The Indian government should endorse Swamy as the candidate for the top job at IMF.

Raghu Seshadri, Chennai

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