It is depressing when its Russian executive director speaks more sense about the future of the International Monetary Fund than does the European Union. Yet Aleksei Mozhin did so when he criticised the EU’s decision to foist Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, on the IMF. Only those who want the Fund to be irrelevant can applaud the decision. This is the wrong candidate, chosen in the wrong way.

Mr Mozhin was right when he said “the IMF is facing a severe crisis of legitimacy”. He was correct to insist that “we must select the best candidate” if the institution is to remain relevant to developing countries. He was right to note that Mr Strauss-Kahn’s biography does not show that “he has the necessary technical skills to do the job”.