IMPEACH BUSH

The Wolfowitz saga at the World Bank is a sordid, sorry affair, but it illustrates the need for reform in the way the organisation is run. Paul Wolfowitz, neo-con and architect of the Iraq War, has been rapped by a panel for his role in awarding a pay and promotion package to his girlfriend, Shaha Riza.

Now he is under pressure from European shareholders in the bank to resign: they are horrified that he is hanging on to power while the institution continues to lecture developing countries about the need for good corporate governance. Wolfowitz might have quit by now, but the US administration is trying to persuade him to stay to avoid losing face. He is, after all, an American appointment. But therein lies the problem. The bank's credibility would be better served if its president were selected by an independent body with power to hire and fire. If that were the case, he would have been shown the door weeks ago.