Fiorina could lead World Bank
WASHINGTON Carly Fiorina, who lost her job as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard three weeks ago, has emerged as a strong candidate to become president of the World Bank, according to an official in the Bush administration.
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Paul Wolfowitz, the deputy secretary of defense, is also under serious consideration, according to the official, who did not wish to be identified because discussion about the candidates is continuing.
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But a nomination of Wolfowitz could face opposition from European nations that see him as an architect of the war in Iraq.
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The Treasury Department would not comment on the Wolfowitz candidacy, which was first reported Tuesday in The Financial Times, or on any other candidates.
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Because Wolfowitz is a powerful deputy at the Pentagon, his departure for the World Bank could have a major impact on military policy. But Pentagon officials insisted Tuesday that Wolfowitz would remain in place.
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Robert Zoellick, until last week the U.S. trade representative, had been the White House's candidate to succeed the World Bank president, James Wolfensohn, who completes his second five-year term in May. But the White House reopened the search when Zoellick was selected deputy secretary of state.
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The short list also includes Randall Tobias, the global AIDS coordinator for the White House and a former chief executive of Eli Lilly; and John Taylor, the top-ranking official for international affairs at the Treasury Department.
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The decision rests on several factors, including results of consultations with members of the World Bank, politics within the administration and a closer scrutiny of the candidates.
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Tony Fratto, the deputy spokesman for the Treasury Department, which handles the selection process, said there was no timeline for making an appointment.
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By tradition, the United States names the head of the bank while Europe names the director of the International Monetary Fund. The countries left out of the process would like that tradition changed.
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With this appointment, President George W. Bush will have a chance to name his own person to become the spokesman for the world's poor. Increasingly, Bush has pushed to put his mark on foreign aid policy, stressing aid to countries meeting his criteria for responsible government.
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Whether Wolfowitz would be the best candidate to pursue these ideas is susceptible to questions by other countries at the World Bank.
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"I don't think there's any question that the Europeans would want to veto Wolfowitz and they would view his nomination as an act of bad faith on the part of the administration," said Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development, a nonpartisan institute.
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Fiorina, the only woman on the list, carries far less political baggage than Wolfowitz and has a reputation for dynamic leadership. As the head of a Fortune 500 company for six years, she gained managerial experience that put her near the top of the list for the job. She would also add glamour as probably the only candidate famous enough to be known by her first name, Carly.
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Lael Brainard, director of the poverty and global initiative at the Brookings Institution, said of Fiorina: "Her candidacy is within the traditional mold in that America has on occasion gone to someone with a proven record in the corporate world because, at the end of the day, the World Bank is a big management challenge."
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As the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and later United States ambassador to Indonesia, Wolfowitz oversaw policy covering the developing world. However, neither Wolfowitz nor Fiorina is an expert in development.
Carly Fiorina zur Weltbank?
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