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Sweetheart Deal May Sink Wolfowitz
World Bank staff boos his apology for pushing girlfriend's promotion
By Peter Fearon
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Posted Apr 13, 07 6:41 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz faced mounting pressure to resign last night as details emerged over his role in ordering a promotion and pay raise for an employee with whom he is romantically involved. Wolfowitz apologized at a press conference and again to a gathering of bank staff members, where he was greeted with boos and chants of "resign, resign."
The conflict-of-interest flap exacerbated a rift between the prominent neocon and many staff members who felt he was, as one of the architects of the Iraq war, inappropriate for the job. He has been accused of withholding aid from some nations to advance a political agenda. The decision whether to remove Wolfowitz is likely to involve the leaders of the bank's main donor counties.