It's All Gravy for war criminal

[karlos]

Blair mooted for World Bank presidency
Prime Minister Tony Blair is a 25-1 outsider to be the next president of the World Bank, according to the latest odds from Ladbrokes.

But the 4-5 favourite to take over the leadership of the organisation in the wake of Paul Wolfowitz's resignation is Ashraf Ghani, who is currently chancellor of Kabul University and was the Afghan finance minister following the Taliban's overthrow in 2002.
Robert Zoellick, the US deputy secretary of state, is 7-2 second-favourite, followed by fellow US government official Robert Kimmitt, the deputy treasury secretary, at 5-1.

Mr Wolfowitz, the Bank's current president, said last night that he would resign at the end of June after a bitter row involving the promotion of his girlfriend.

Mr Blair, who steps down as Prime Minister on June 27, is in the frame for the high profile role, according to Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel prize-winning economist and a former chief economist at the World Bank.

He told BBC Radio Five Live that: "He is one of the people that is clearly being discussed. Blair has clearly been a political leader that has had the kinds of connections that one needs; that would be useful as head of the institution."

But Mr Stiglitz said that it would be better for the World Bank to appoint an economist rather than a political figurehead.

"I think it would be good for the institution at this juncture if they had somebody who was an economist who really understood what development entailed and could work closely with the staff that has been very alienated by Paul Wolfowitz over the last two years and bring together the institution," he said

The World Bank, which provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world, has never had a non-American president before.

But Mr Ghani, who was a key figure in helping to repair the Afghan economy after the Taliban were thrown out of power, is said to be to be high up on a list of possible replacements for Mr Wolfowitz drawn up by officials at the White House.

He was a candidate to replace Kofi Annan as secretary-general of the United Nations last year and worked as a special adviser for the World Bank between 1991 and 2002.

Other possible candidates include Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former Nigerian finance minister who would be the first woman to lead the World Bank, and John Bolton, the controversial former US ambassador to the UN.