Germany ‘wants Wolfowitz to go’

Germany believes Paul Wolfowitz’s position as head of the World Bank has become unsustainable, a German minister has told the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) newspaper.

World Bank staff have called for Wolfowitz to quit following his admission that he approved promotion and high salaries for his girlfriend.

“The situation … is no longer acceptable,” Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, a development minister, told the FTD in an article to run on Monday.

“My conclusion is that Wolfowitz should do the bank a service and take the consequences himself. The sooner, the better.”

Architect of Iraq war

Wolfowitz, whose appointment to the World Bank presidency in mid-2005 was controversial because of his role as an architect of the Iraq war while at the Pentagon, has refused to step down.

The US government has urged leading European countries to withhold judgment until the World Bank’s 24-nation board decides on his future.

The World Bank’s board delayed a final decision on Wolfowitz’s future on Friday and called for further investigation.

The board said in a statement: “The executive directors agreed on a process to deal with the situation urgently, effectively and in an orderly manner.”

The World Bank chief has apologised for his role in the promotion for his girlfriend and said he would accept any decision the board makes.

“I made a mistake for which I am sorry”, he said.

“I’m not going to pre-empt their deliberations, I will accept any remedies they propose.”

Agencies

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