Mantega Hopes IMF Chief Keeps Job

The Wall Street Journal reports

SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)--Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega on Tuesday said he hopes Dominique Strauss-Kahn can remain managing director of the International Monetary Fund and that the sexual assault accusations made against the official are "resolved."

"He, in my view, was one of the best managing directors to pass through that institution," Mantega said of Strauss-Kahn in an interview on local television. "I'm rooting for this situation to be resolved and for him to continue at the helm."

Strauss-Kahn led the IMF, which advises and lends money to financially troubled countries, into an expanded role during the global economic recession, helping to broker bailouts for a number of debt-troubled governments in Europe. He's currently jailed in the U.S. on accusations of sexual assault and attempted rape against a hotel maid.

Mantega said talk of a successor for Strauss-Kahn is premature, as some have speculated that big emerging economies such as Brazil or China might push for one of their own star finance officials to manage the IMF, which is traditionally headed by a European.

"It's possible to have a good European--that's the case of (Strauss-Kahn), I see him as very competent--but you could have an emerging country also be competent," Mantega said.

The IMF's criteria for selecting a managing director should aim toward meritocracy, something Strauss-Kahn himself said he'd support, Mantega added.