Brown battling against the odds to secure IMF post

William Hague yesterday blamed Gordon Brown for failing to put himself forward as a candidate to lead the International Monetary Fund after Britain instead backed a Frenchwoman for the post.

The Foreign Secretary claimed that the former prime minister had not communicated any interest in the job following the resignation of scandal-hit Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Chancellor George Osborne put the final nail in the coffin of Mr Brown’s hopes by formally supporting French finance minister Christine Lagarde.

David Cameron and George Osborne are unlikely to face similar censure for their blackballing of Gordon Brown's bid to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the head of the IMF, but their treatment of the former prime minister is shabby nonetheless.

Let's be clear: Brown made plenty of blunders during his 13 years first as chancellor and then prime minister. He did not abolish boom and bust; he failed to tame the growing power of the City; he left the economy far too dependent on two or three sources of growth.

But he was also the longest serving chancellor since Gladstone; he presided over the IMF's key policy committee expertly for almost a decade; he drove forward an international agenda on development and he took the initiative when the global banking industry was about to implode in the autumn of 2008. In any other country for that matter, that would make him a serious contender for the job. Not in Britain.

In part, this is due to personal factors. Both Cameron and Osborne feel that Brown treated them w ith contempt and hostility when he was in office, and so feel under no obligation to a political opponent. The reason for the snub goes deeper than that, though.

Since Labour's defeat at the general election a year ago, the coalition has been keen to portray Brown as the prime minister who left the country in a state of near-bankruptcy, thus making the current painful austerity measures inevitable. Plenty of voters share this view and they might find it strange for the government to be trashing Brown's record on the one hand and bigging him up for the IMF job on the other.

Both he and the prime minister have also opined that they see no reason why the custom of selecting a European for the role shouldn’t be shelved in favour of a candidate from Asia.

The Tories would appear to have the support of their coalition partners, after the business secretary, Vince Cable, last week said that ‘‘promoting national champions, whoever they are, probably isn’t the best way of dealing with this’’.

‘‘The IMF is dealing with a major economic crisis in Europe. They need somebody very effective and respected who understands the internal problems of the eurozone. That is probably where the new head of the IMF will come from," said Cable. ‘‘If it doesn’t, someone from the eastern Asian countries who has had a very successful record in economic management."

For his part, Brown, who was recently appointed chairman of the World Economic Forum’s policy and initiatives coordination board, has remained quiet on the subject.

However, his memoir Beyond the Crash, released last year, was widely seen as an application for the post.

Currently in Africa, where he is highly regarded for his work on debt relief and development, Britain’s longest-serving chancellor of modern times is not expected to launch a formal campaign, but it is well known that he would be willing for his name to be put forward.

As well as developing nations in Africa, a Brown candidacy could also expect the support of leading emerging nations, where his role in coordinating the global response to the financial crisis is well respected.

But the overwhelming opinion appears to be that the time is not right for the Scot.

Whether the time will ever be right is a question for the future, but with the IMF’s role including the oversight of its member’s economies, it is unlikely Cameron and Osborne will countenance the possibility of Brown critiquing their handiwork while they remain in office.

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