The IMF on Thursday opens formal nominations for the next term of managing director, with incumbent Christine Lagarde seen as the leading candidate despite possibly facing a trial in France. The International Monetary Fund said nominations for the five-year term to run the global crisis bank beginning in July will close on February 10, reports AFP. After a review of the candidates, the IMF executive board aims to have decided on a candidate by March 3. Lagarde, the former French finance minister who has overseen the IMF through the challenging eurozone bailouts and is widely respected in the global financial community, has not said directly that she wants to renew her position. But she said several times in the past year that she is open to it.Asked about staying on at the annual IMF global meeting in Lima, Peru last October, she said: “I’m certainly open to the fact that it would not be my last annual meeting. But this is not for me to decide.” She already has the support of Britain and Germany. British finance minister George Osborne on Thursday tweeted that he was “delighted to nominate @Lagarde for (the) new term as head of IMF”. He described her as “an outstanding leader with vision and acumen to steer global economy in years ahead”. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble also backed Lagarde’s candidacy. She had proven to be a “far-sighted and successful crisis manager in difficult times,” the German finance ministry in Berlin said in a statement. Lagarde had “contributed substantially to the IMF’s high standing,” the statement added.
