I have no intention of discussing the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn though I do have very definite views about it. However I do want to take strong issue with the suggestion that he was some sort of "reformer" who was trying to change the IMF for the better.
All of the "reforms" that Strauss-Kahn is associated with are purely cosmetic. They have had no discernible effect on the way the IMF operates in the countries in which it becomes involved. Their only purpose was to enhance Strauss-Kahn's image with left of centre voters in France who he needed to win over in order to secure the Socialist Party's nomination in the forthcoming elections for the French Presidency. That these "reforms" were not intended to be taken seriously is shown by the fact that Strauss-Kahn was intending to leave the IMF to run for the French Presidency before any of his "reforms" were implemented or in place.
Nor is there the slightest possibility that this situation is going to change. The west European governments have already made it clear that Strauss-Kahn's replacement will not come from the developing world or from the BRICS states or those aligned with them but will be another west European who can be relied on to enforce the existing orthodoxy. Notwithstanding the drift in economic power away from Europe and North America western countries still dominate the international financial institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank and their say on Strauss-Kahn's successor will be decisive.
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