Paul Wolfowitz's appointment as head of the World Bank last week was a shoo-in. Since President George W. Bush nominated his deputy defence secretary a fortnight ago, there has been nary a squeak of official complaint.

Non-governmental organisations have made plenty of noise, and some militants are organising protests at the spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this month. But there was never any indication that other bank shareholders would oppose the US. As expected, the vote of the bank's board was unanimous.