The world reaction is one of head-scratching:
The United States nomination of Paul Wolfowitz as World Bank chief drew a cool response from European officials on the bank’s board but they had little chance of blocking it, board sources said on Wednesday.
Sources close to the World Bank board said Wolfowitz’s name was informally circulated several weeks ago among the 23-member board, which represents the bank’s 184 member countries, and the reaction was made clear to US Treasury Secretary John Snow.
"Mr. Snow knows that the reaction from the board was unfavourable," one source said. "Mr. Wolfowitz’s nomination today tells us the US couldn’t care less what the rest of the world thinks."