Lagarde IMF backlash as Brown wins Obama praise

Senior economists have questioned the credentials of French finance minister Christine Lagarde, the woman considered a shoo-in for the post of IMF chief, which was vacated last week by the disgraced Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The backlash comes after comments yesterday by US president Barack Obama that were taken as a vindication of former British PM Gordon Brown's policies during the financial crisis of 2008. Brown is yet to indicate his wish to apply for the IMF job, but a number of economists have said he is the man for the job.

On Thursday the BBC economics editor took to Twitter to observe that there was a "rearguard action" building against Lagarde and suggested that the hitherto lukewarm Economist magazine would come out against her in this week's edition.

In a profile of the French finance minister on its website today, under the title 'Who is Christine Lagarde?', the Economist notes that she has the qualifications to do the job, but once again raised the issue of the possibility of legal trouble over the Bernard Tapie affair.

It commented: "The timing [of her candidacy], in the wake of the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is unfortunate. Right now, the French can ill-afford even the whiff of impropriety."

Now no less a figure than Michael Wolf has questioned the wisdom of appointing Lagarde. "She is an extremely likeable and impressive person," he wrote in the FT this week. "But she is not a perfect candidate: her economics are limited. If she were to become head of the organisation she would have to rely on the advice of those around her."

This is all good news for supporters of Gordon Brown, who has many heavyweight backers. As The First Post reported earlier this week, Sir James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank and economic historian Lord Robert Skidelsky have heaped praise on the former prime minister.

But the biggest fillip for the anti-Lagarde/pro-Brown campaign could come from the visit of the US president to London.

During a press conference at Lancaster House with David Cameron yesterday he made a pointed reference to Brown's actions during the economic crisis. "We have succeeded in the first part to yank the world economy out of recession and that was in large part due to concerted action between the US, the UK and other countries," he said.

Obama also appears to be at odds with Cameron's approach to clearing the deficit, and seems to be in favour of the slower time-scale favoured by Brown. 

Westminster observers were also struck by Obama's warm welcome for Brown when he addressed MPs and peers at Westminster yesterday. The US will have almost 17 per cent of the vote when the new leader of the IMF is selected. If Brown can count on their support, might he yet be inclined to run? ·