Tounge & cheek at the FT

The Whitehouse cries wolf. The news that Paul Wolfowitz, the US deputy defence secretary and neo-conservative hawk, is a leading contender to head the World Bank has sent a frisson of fear down the spines of development experts across the globe. So great is the predicted backlash that one might almost suspect he is only there to secure Europe's acquiescence to a rival candidate. There is certainly a danger of establishing a worrying trend. Wolfowitz would not be first Pentagon alumnus to go from bombing bridges to building them. In 1968 Robert McNamara, Lyndon B. Johnson's defence secretary, went straight from spearheading the Vietnam conflict to a lengthy stint as bank president. There are, of course, those carpers who feel that Wolfowitz is not necessarily the ideal candidate. For them his "weaknesses" would include his views, his pivotal role in the Iraq conflict, the hostility of European board members and his singular lack of experience in running a large organisation. To these quibblers he would be a conservative hardliner brought in to neuter the bank. But surely this is to take the job specifications too literally. When one digs deeper Wolfowitz emerges as a far more attractive candidate. He has been a strong proponent of debt relief, although admittedly mainly for Iraq. The time has also clearly come for the bank to lash out in some bold new directions. Outgoing president James Wolfensohn saw how political and institutional corruption undermines so many aid efforts. But after years of trying and failing to alter the approach of some of the world's most corrupt rulers, think how refreshing it would be to simply topple them. There is the thorny issue of whether the World Bank's charter precludes such direct political action as, say, invasion, but no doubt Alberto Gonzales, the US attorney-general, would declare it legal as long as the interventions are classified as "coercive aid projects" rather that combat operations. Some will fear that Wolfowitz's ideology could bring the bank into conflict with its most important client, China, but then again, it does not seem to have harmed US/Sino relations unduly. After all, it is not as if Beijing is an outpost of tyranny or anything. There will understandably be concerns that environmentalists and many NGOs might find themselves shut out. They may commission scathing reports and leak them to the press, but publish and be dammed is a fine motto. Off the menue. Beware news of India's high-tech miracle. Saurabh Singh, 17, was feted as a national hero after announcing he had won Nasa's International Scientist Discovery examination. The Uttar Pradesh state government awarded him aprize of Rs500,000 rupee ($11,500) and more than 100 members of the state's upper house each donated a day's salary to him. He was even granted an audience with the Indian president. Just as he was waiting, however, came news from Nasa that there was no such exam. [Source: FT]