He was a socialist years before he joined the IMF (being clear this is mainstream European socialism - perhaps 'social democracy' might help as the phrase).
The decision by the 24-member IMF board was a formality after Hank Paulson, the US Treasury secretary, last week endorsed Mr Strauss-Kahn’s candidacy saying that he would “make the bold reforms necessary to lead a strong and relevant fund into the future”.
Mr Strauss-Kahn has pledged to push through greater representation for developing countries in the IMF’s complex shareholding structure, which is largely based on member countries’ economic weighting in dollar prices. Many European countries, which together control 32 per cent of the shareholding, have resisted dilution of their weighting.
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Last month, Russia surprised many by endorsing the candidacy of Josef Tosovsky, a former prime minister of the Czech Republic, claiming Mr Strauss-Kahn lacked the qualifications necessary to restore the fund’s legitimacy. However, Russia’s move failed to enthuse the large developing countries.
But many are hoping that Mr Strauss-Kahn, who has a forceful political reputation, will have the ability to persuade smaller European countries to agree to governance reforms. The IMF share-holders meet this month for the fund’s annual meeting.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/35e8d3a8-6de7-11dc-b8ab-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz1MQyZ1YtVStrauss-Kahn's candidacy was first proposed by the president of France, Nicolas Sarkozy in July and the campaign soon gained momentum with the support of the EU, which collectively holds 32.09 percent of IMF voting rights, and the US, the single largest contributor with 16.83 percent.
With the campaign nearing its potentially successful conclusion, Russia, which holds 2.70 percent, put forward Tosovsky, who currently heads the Financial Stability Institute of the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland, claiming that he had wide support in the developing world.
However, the lending of additional support by Brazil, Argentina, India and a certain number of other large, emerging countries gave the Strauss-Kahn campaign its winning momentum in the days leading up to Friday's vote.
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The man himself has pledged to implement reforms that will restore the legitimacy of the institution, continue those aimed at giving emerging economies a bigger stake in the fund's voting power and to strengthen the IMF's monitoring of a changing global economy, where countries like China had a bigger role.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,2801510,00.htmlIt seems he was appointed to reform it, and pull it away from neo-liberalism.
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