The Chicago gang behind Lagarde's appointment as IMF chief
French president Nicolas Sarkozy hailed the appointment of his former finance minister Christine Lagarde as IMF chief as a "victory for France". Philippe Ries begs to differ, and argues here why it was above all a success for the US administration in a savvy operation mounted by a clique of Obama advisors.
InIn a wonderful display of consensus, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday appointed a ‘Chicago girl' as its Managing Director. It's not that Christine Lagarde, a Paris university law graduate, has the academic baggage of a PhD in economic studies from the prestigious University of Chicago - unlike her unique rival for the job, the Mexican Agustin Carstens. Nor is it a reference to the fact that French President Nicolas Sarkozy's outgoing finance minister ended her high-flying legal career at Baker & McKenzie, whose worldwide headquarters are found in the Windy City. Rather, it is because Lagarde owes her appointment as IMF chief to the Chicago gang who today govern the United States from their base in the west wing of the White House.
