The candidacy of Bank of Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens as director of the International Monetary Fund should be taken seriously, said an editorial of The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada, even though the front-runner, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, is widely expected to win. Excerpts: Since the now 187-nation IMF was established in 1944, its leader has always been a European, and this monopoly is no longer acceptable. The pressure to reform the IMF has gained momentum, following the unexpected departure of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was forced to resign after being charged with sexually assaulting a hotel chambermaid. Developing countries are lobbying for someone from their ranks in recognition of the increasingly important role countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China play in the global economy — and in its recovery from the 2008 recession. They are right; it is time to look beyond Europe, and give an audience to other credible candidates from emerging markets — even if they remain underdogs. ... Lagarde is a lawyer, not an economist. But she is a persuasive negotiator and a powerful member of the Sarkozy Cabinet. She has the backing of the European Union nations, while the US, Japan and developing nations have not endorsed anyone. The candidacy of Carstens is an important step forward, and reflects the growing consensus that the decision of who should lead the IMF should be based on merit, not nationality. __
