Reuters called it a surprise move. Most everyone expected the IMF to waive for 67-year old Fischer the age limit of 65 for an incoming IMF director. But the fix was in.
Like I have said, when it comes to these kinds of questions, always expect Roubini to be betting on the right horse. He thumbed on the announcement that Fischer planned to run that it "looks like a most uphill battle."
Earleir, while Dominique Strauss-Kahn was still being held at Rikers, Roubini had the likely new head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, pegged. Via Twitter, Roubini set the stage:
EM candidates for IMF M[anaging]D[irector]El-Erian, Dervis, Carstens, Sheng, Ahluwalia, Manuel. But US-EU realpolitik may lead to choice of smart Lagarde
I can’t think of anyone who would be better. More importantly, Nobel Memorial Prize winner Paul Krugman thinks so. But the IMF has never had a non-European as its permanent director.
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