Pressure mounts on Wolfowitz, deal in offing

Leading governments of Europe, mounting a new campaign to push Paul D Wolfowitz from his job as World Bank president, have signalled that they are willing to let the United States choose the bank8217;s next chief, but only if Wolfowitz stepped down soon, European officials said.

Leading governments of Europe, mounting a new campaign to push Paul D Wolfowitz from his job as World Bank president, have signalled that they are willing to let the United States choose the bank8217;s next chief, but only if Wolfowitz stepped down soon, European officials said.

European officials had previously indicated that they wanted to end the tradition of the US picking the World Bank leader. But now the officials are hoping to enlist American help in persuading Wolfowitz to resign voluntarily, rather than be rebuked or ousted.

The goal, they said, is to avert a public rupture of the bank board over a vote, possibly later this week, to sanction Wolfowitz. Even if the vote is a reprimand, they said, it could effectively make it impossible for him to stay on.

8220;What we need is a president with a good reputation and integrity,8221; Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos said at a meeting of European finance officials in Brussels, Belgium. Bos went on to say that he has 8220;serious doubts8221; about the integrity of Wolfowitz.

Belgium8217;s Finance Minister Didier Reynders struck a similar chord, saying: 8220;It is impossible to go around the world speaking about good governance without good governance at the World Bank.8221;

The Europeans worked to arrange a quick exit for Wolfowitz as a special bank committee concluded that he was guilty of breaking rules barring conflicts of interest in arranging for a pay raise and promotion for Shaha Ali Riza, his companion and a bank employee, in 2005.

The decision was sent to Wolfowitz on Sunday night after a month of turmoil over the situation. The panel8217;s findings were not made public, but people familiar with the report said that it reviewed documents and testimony before concluding that Wolfowitz had breached his obligations in arranging for Riza8217;s reassignment from the bank to the State Department.

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8220;What I8217;m hearing from colleagues is, 8216;Let8217;s not push the Americans too hard,8221;8217; said a senior European official involved in policy on the bank. 8220;We8217;re willing to say: 8216;OK, you find a capable American to run this institution and we can live with that.8221;8217;

European officials did not disclose details of how they were communicating with the Bush administration, but they said the suggestion that Wolfowitz resign in return for having an American successor was first raised with Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson Jr in mid-April.

The White House appeared to take a bit of a hands-off approach on Tuesday. Presidential spokesman Tony Snow said: 8220;We still support President Wolfowitz.8221; But, he added: 8220;The president is not getting directly, personally involved to my knowledge. 8230; I think it8217;s proper to let the process work itself out rather than trying to insinuate ourselves in it.8221;

In another sign of Wolfowitz8217;s difficulties, his top communications aide, Kevin Kellems, quit on Monday, saying that 8220;the current environment surrounding the leadership8221; at the bank made it 8220;very difficult to be effective in helping to advance the mission of the institution.8221;

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The committee8217;s finding of guilt against Wolfowitz was tempered by a finding that the bank shared at least some blame for the failure of Wolfowitz to comply with its rules. Nevertheless, the report was clear in its conclusion that Wolfowitz breached his obligations.