Pressure Is On for IMF to Replace Strauss-Kahn

As Dominique Strauss-Kahn sits in Rikers Island, the pressure on the IMF to replace him as chief is building, the Wall Street Journal reports. Strauss-Kahn is “obviously not in the position to run the IMF,” Timothy Geithner said last night in his first public comments on the incident, adding that the board should more formally recognize that American John Lipsky is filling in for Strauss-Kahn for the time being.

Meanwhile, some European officials are implying he should step down, and they want a fellow European to take the helm; French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde appears to be the frontrunner. South Africa, however, is calling for a replacement from the developing world in order to “fully reflect the voices of all countries.” But not everyone is ready for Strauss-Kahn to step aside: Luxembourg’s prime minister says it’s “indecent” that talk of Strauss-Kahn's future with the IMF has already begun. Click for more on Strauss-Kahn's case. (More Dominique Strauss Kahn stories.)