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How to fit 27 elephants in a single chair

09 May 2007

We love IFIs governance reform. For years, it has accompanied us in a bumpy road through International Financial and Monetary Committee’s agendas and Development Committee’s communiqués , academic literature, experts’ debates and NGO advocacy. Reform of European governance at the IFIs is slightly newer in this debate. 

We have heard many times that global economic governance is utterly unfair; that 60 years after the Bretton Woods agreement, the shares of European governments at the WB and the IMF do no longer correspond to their real weight in the world’s economy; or that Europeans sit in too many chairs at the WB and IMF Boards – while the whole African continent is squeezed in two little seats. But the reality of global economic governance has been dominated by lots of talking translated into little action, so far.

With a handicapped reform going ahead at the IMF, and the threat that sooner than later it may spill over to the Bank, maybe this is a good occasion for NGOs to keep a close eye to the process of reform and try to push for governance reforms leading to a fairer global economic governance (or – at least – try to stop reforms which may sometimes be more harming than helpful). Roughly holding a third of the IMF and WB voting power, European countries are well placed to exercise influence if they only managed to agree on a common – and progressive – stance.

Faced with this political crossroads, European governments are aware of the unfairness of the situation; but, at the end of the day, who will dare to give up the chair first?

How to fit 27 elephants in a single chair : Kb