French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde stretched her lead in the race for the IMF's top job on Sunday when Indonesia became the first big developing economy to back her publicly, according to Reuters. Indonesia, like many emerging economies, was previously non-committal about its choice for the next boss of the International Monetary Fund as Southeast Asian capitals discussed whether to put forward a candidate from the region. Lagarde already has the support of the European Union and a handful of smaller countries. She gained a personal message of approval from her opposite number in Jakarta. "Personally I support France," Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said at an economic forum in Jakarta. "She is a very professional person. She is smart in interacting between institutions, and has high integrity and skills." Several large emerging economies have been critical of the longstanding tradition of the IMF being led by Europeans. But they have refrained from backing Mexican central bank governor Agustin Carstens, the only well-known challenger from an emerging economy until Fischer's announcement.
