Stanley Fischer, Israel's central bank governor, has received an early blow in his bid to head the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after a key supporter branded his chances as "not great".
Mr Fischer announced on Saturday that he was throwing his hat into the ring, challenging frontrunner Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister, and Mexico's central bank governor Agustin Carstens. Mr Fischer is a well-liked former deputy head of the IMF.
"One problem is his age. Fischer is 67, which is two years older than the demands for the position," Yuval Steinitz, Israel's finance minister said.
Current rules restrict the appointment of anyone over the age of 65 and dictate that no-one can hold the five-year job beyond the age of 70.
"I hope they find a way around it, it's not a suitable criteria in this day and age," said Mr Steinitz but added that Mr Fischer's chances were "not great".
As a dual Israeli-American citizen, there is also the question of whether Mr Fischer's nationality could hamper his chances, as the top IMF job usually goes to a European.
0 comments:
Post a Comment