20 March 2005Correspondent Report
HAMISH ROBERTSON: Last week's decision by President Bush to nominate Paul Wolfowitz as President of the World Bank has hasn't exactly been greeted with enthusiasm by America's European allies.Mr Wolfowitz is widely regarded as one of the leading hawks of the Bush administration, and one of the main architects of the war in Iraq, which was fiercely opposed by both France and Germany.Despite recent efforts by Mr Bush to patch up relations with Europe, the Wolfowitz nomination appears to confirm the president's determination to push ahead with a hardline neo-conservative agenda.Leigh Sales reports from Washington.LEIGH SALES: Many people wondered if neo-conservatives were out of favour with President Bush after the hiccups with Iraq.But with his State of the Union address, inauguration speech, and recent appointments to key jobs, the President has signalled that the neo-cons are still in the ascension.He's now putting Deputy Secretary of Defence Paul Wolfowitz into the top job at the World Bank.GEORGE BUSH: The Pentagon's a large organisation – he's been involved in the management of that organisation. He's a skilled diplomat – worked at the State Department in high positions. He was Ambassador to Indonesia, where he did a very good job representing our country. And Paul is committed to development. He's a compassionate, decent man.LEIGH SALES: Jeffrey Sacks at Columbia University says it's a calculated move.JEFFREY SACKS: It's a kind of in your face move, and who knows what's going to happen.LEIGH SALES: Mr Wolfowitz says he's going to approach his job by doing a lot of listening, and isn't planning on steering the bank away from its central mission of poverty reduction.PAUL WOLFOWITZ: I must say, it's more than honour, it's humbling and challenging to be nominated for this incredibly important position. I believe deeply and passionately in the mission of the World Bank. The opportunity of working to lift a billion people who earn less than a dollar a day out of poverty, and billions of others who live in circumstances of poverty, to give them a fair chance in life, is an exciting responsibility and a real challenge.LEIGH SALES: But no matter how soothing the noises are coming from Mr Wolfowitz, there are those who won't be convinced.Political economist, Greg Valliere.GREG VALLIERE: You'd have to say, based on Wolfowitz's entire career that he's very qualified for this job. But I think many people in Western Europe view him for one thing and one thing only – and that's Iraq. And he is a real hock, and I think for many in Western Europe, this is a very provocative act.LEIGH SALES: Reaction in Europe has been predictably sceptical, and some observers believe having Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank will stir up protest.Jeff Powell is the coordinator of the Bretton Woods Project and he thinks people will return to a view of the World Bank as a tool of American foreign policy.JEFF POWELL: We can be quite certain that with Mr Wolfowitz at its head that those kinds of protests are going to increase. And that's going to make the Bank's work even more difficult, no matter what you think of what it's doing. This is really indicative of a process that is broken. Mr Wolfowitz has never had to tell anyone what his agenda would be for the World Bank.LEIGH SALES: Mr Wolfowitz still has to be confirmed by the Board of the World Bank, but that's usually just a formality.This is Leigh Sales in Washington, for Correspondents Report.
