Decision ‘08

Don’t Believe Everything You Read…

…and if it involves Europe, believe nothing you read. Typical of the coverage of the Paul Wolfowitz World Bank scandal is this from the Washington Post:

Paul Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday to staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.

European countries led by Germany and France want Wolfowitz to step down, while support for the embattled president has eroded in Nordic nations and elsewhere, according to bank officials and others close to the situation.

That’s true as far as it goes…but you must look much further down the article, and do some reading between the lines, to see why Europe, such a ‘modern’ community regarding sexual mores, is so scandalized by Wolfowitz and his girlfriend:

The United States, the bank’s largest shareholder, continues to stand by Wolfowitz. By tradition, the World Bank has been led by an American. President Bush tapped Wolfowitz and the bank’s board approved the selection despite complaints from Europeans about Wolfowitz’s role in the Iraq war.

In a nutshell, then, the story is this: Paul Wolfowitz is poison because he was involved with Iraq; furthermore, the scandal gives Europe a leg up on taking the World Bank leadership role from America.

But what about the impoverished nations the World Bank is meant to serve? From yesterday’s Wall Street Journal:

One of the most revealing subplots in the European coup attempt against World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz is who is coming to the American’s defense. The rich European donor countries want him to resign, while the Africans who are the bank’s major clients are encouraging him to stay.

You wouldn’t know this from the press coverage, which continues to report selective leaks from the bank staff and European sources who started this political putsch. The latest “news” is that the European Parliament has asked Mr. Wolfowitz to resign, thus sustaining that body’s reputation for irrelevant but politically correct gestures. If Mr. Wolfowitz leaves, no doubt some of the europols will angle for the job.

The more telling story is the support for the bank president from reform-minded Africans. At a press conference during this month’s World Bank-IMF meetings in Washington, four of the more progressive African finance ministers were asked about the Wolfowitz flap. Here’s how Antoinette Sayeh, Liberia’s finance minister, responded:

“I would say that Wolfowitz’s performance over the last several years and his leadership on African issues should certainly feature prominently in the discussions . . . . In the Liberian case and the case of many forgotten post-conflict fragile countries, he has been a visionary. He has been absolutely supportive, responsive, there for us . . . . We think that he has done a lot to bring Africa in general . . . into the limelight and has certainly championed our cause over the last two years of his leadership, and we look forward to it continuing.”

The shame of it all is that this is a self-inflicted wound. Wolfowitz should have had nothing to do with any decision regarding his girlfriend. He should have put a giant wall between himself and any decisions regarding her employment status or pay. By behaving in such a foolish fashion, he has given the weaselly Europeans all the rope they need to hang him.

Paul Wolfowitz will be gone from the World Bank by this time next week…and more’s the pity that he did himself in…

5 Responses to “Don’t Believe Everything You Read…”

1 Bob from Ohio Says:
April 29th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Before or after Alberto Gonzalez leaves?

I agree that Wolfowitz was foolish to get involved at all. Don’t you think he was set up though? The “Ethics” commitee, dominated by the permanent bank employees who hate him, kept after him to issue the directive. He fell for it when, as someone with vast bureaucratic experience, he should have known better. That is the foolish part.
2 Mark Says:
April 29th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
I deserve that! Yep, Gonzalez is proving pretty resilient, I’ll grant you. I really thought he would be gone by now.

And I should note Wolfowitz is lawyered up, so I’m probably jumping the gun a bit here, too…
3 Fargus Says:
April 30th, 2007 at 8:29 am
This post seems a bit disingenuous, Mark. It acknowledges that Wolfowitz did something wrong, but only so far as you need to start hurling stones at everybody else but Wolfowitz. Doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense.
4 T.W.L. Says:
April 30th, 2007 at 11:23 am
Fargus,

I’m not sure that Mr. Wolfowitz did do anything wrong. He tried to recuse himself, as Bob points out, and was unable to. And, in any case, nothing regarding Ms. Riza’s salary or position is actually amiss - given her level of experience, and the position she was tagged for before Mr. Wolfowitz arrived, she is if anything underpaid and underutilized at present.
5 Mark Says:
April 30th, 2007 at 6:31 pm
Fargus, there’s nothing disingenuous about noting that Wolfowitz’s critics are crawling in ulterior motives. That and the fact that he was stupid or not mutually exclusive…