Top deputy tells Wolfowitz to step down- sources

Reuters ^ | 18 April 2007 | Staff

[Kitten Festival]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A deputy to Paul Wolfowitz told the World Bank chief on Wednesday to resign in the interests of the institution during a meeting of the bank's management, sources who participated in the meeting said.

The sources told Reuters that World Bank Managing Director Graeme Wheeler, a bank veteran who was appointed by Wolfowitz as one of his two deputies a year ago, raised the issue at a meeting of the bank's vice presidents.

Asked to comment, World Bank spokesman Marwan Muasher said: "I feel it is inappropriate to comment on private meetings."

[Kitten Festival]

This may sounds ominious but it might not be. Bush has reiterated support for Wolfie, and the US is the leading shareholder at the bank. Maybe wolf will fire graeme.

[SolidWood]

I will eat a cowboy hat if the Wolf steps down. He will remain President of the World bank. Bet on it.

[Kitten Festival]

Melkert claims he had nothing to do with it, fwiw: Bank Ethics Committee chair spells it out. Leading Dutch financial paper Der Handelsblatt carries comments (Dutch) from Ad Melkert, chair of the Bank's Ethics Committee when the Riza pay rise was agreed. Melkert strongly denies that the Commission oversaw the Riza deal. "As former chairman of the Commission I reject all direct allegation or suggestion that the Commission was in the know, or should have been in the know, about the terms and conditions of the contract of Mrs Riza for her transfer outside the World Bank." Melkert claims he only gave Wolfowitz some advice, but did not instruct him to act in any particular way. It was anyway not the brief of the Ethical Commission to adjudicate on compensation levels, and he says Wolfowitz had decided to instruct the personnel department himself, as well as dictating conditions.

[eleni121]

Get rid of this idiot and the Bank too.

[brivette]

Amen.

[eleni121]

Amen.

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I called him an idiot but he is worse than that: he is a corrupt cacademic who should have been retired from government long before Bush II’s tenure.

As for the World Bank: what’s that? Like the UN - its bastard sister - it has contributed to nothing, never, now way, ever.

[KC Burke]

so the hundred plus pages of documents that were released that the Wall Street Journal says clerly show the Ethics Committee made the decision and advised Wolf that since they were a committee it must be him that directs the VP of HR to make the changes doesn’t count?

[Kitten Festival]

The wsj editorial page wasn’t a dispassionate source, paul has been close to them for years. I think the washington times did a more objective reading of them. That said, nothing melkert says is to be trusted, he is a slippery, creepy double-crossing player, as the wsj showed and i believe them on that much, it’s possible he’s lying.

[WoofDog123]

do you know any of the people involved in this personally?

I always assume when a scandal breaks in the media over a political personality there is a large underlying motive (with national politics this has become pretty transparent), and this is presumably no different.