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I have a somewhat different take on the Wolfowitz pay scandal at the World Bank than my colleagues Carolyn and Christine. At this point, it's neither here nor there as to whether Wolfowitz improperly scored his girlfriend some extra cash. The fact is, Wolfowitz has never been popular at the fiercely anti-Iraq War Bank, and this incident represents the best opportunity for his many internal and external enemies to get rid of him.
And now comes the latest shoe to drop:
One of Paul Wolfowitz’s two deputies on Wednesday urged the World Bank president to resign as the civil war inside the institution reached top management.
Graeme Wheeler, managing director, made his call in front of all the bank’s top officials at an extraordinary session of their regular weekly meeting.
It is understood that other top managers of vice-president rank also suggested Mr Wolfowitz should go.
That's from today's Financial Times. The Washington Post has a different slant on the meeting, emphasizing instead that the "besieged" Bank president is offering to make changes, which the Post's sources characterize as including the ouster of several of his more polarizing deputies.
Sebastian Mallaby's fantastic biography of James Wolfensohn, Wolfowitz's hard-charging predecessor, makes clear that those who wish to impose their will on the World Bank find themselves more changed by the sprawling institution than vice versa. If Wolfowitz is to survive—and it looks increasingly like he won't despite Bush administration support—he'll have to make major concessions. So even if he does hang on, it will be like he's not even there anymore.
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