Reply #3: The IMF head is now a French Socialist

[HamdenRice]

I realize that this is going to be an unpopular post, but what the heck.

The IMF is as good or bad as its managing director. It got a terrible reputation during the late 80s and 90s when its head was a French Thatcherite named Michel Camdessus. He was perhaps the most cruel banker in world history.

The current managing director was a member of the left wing of the French Socialist Party.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique_Strauss-Kahn

Although institutions like the IMF can be like battleships -- difficult to turn around -- there is some hope that he can restore it to its original mission, of being a Keynesian monetary institution.