Marc Jacobs Hobo appearing to coalesce

Nations like Brazil want a more open process that does not see the top position at the I.M.F. granted to a European, as has been the convention since the fund was founded 65 years ago. They hope instead to

Marc Jacobs Hobo

put forth a credible candidate from the emerging world to reflect its growing economic clout.
“We must establish meritocracy, so that the person leading the I.M.F. is selected for their merits and not for being European,” Guido Mantega, Brazil’s finance minister, said late Wednesday
China, too, publicly weighed in on the debate, suggesting that achieving a consensus on the successor to Mr. Strauss-Kahn may take several months. “In principle, we believe that emerging and developing countries should have representation at senior levels,” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Thursday, the second such statement in two days.
Politicians from across Europe closed ranks, appearing to coalesce behind Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister, as their preferred candidate to succeed Mr. Strauss-Kahn, who is also French.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany publicly called for a European to assume the job, arguing that the Continent’s festering economic problems required a European to stay in place. German media reported that she favored Ms. Lagarde.