London, August 28:

The Former French finance minister, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is all but certain to clinch the top job at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after nominations close this week, despite calls from developing countries for a heavyweight candidate from outside Europe to come forward.

Anti-poverty campaigners have expressed dismay that, despite the IMF’s board insisting candidates should be judged ‘without geographical preferences’, most European governments have clubbed together and promised to vote en masse for ‘DSK’, as he is known.

“It’s totally unaccountable,” said Liz Stuart, of Oxfam. “This was the perfect moment to say, we are changing, we are modern, we do care about being transparent, and democratic, and relevant.”

Europe has been selecting the IMF’s managing director and the US has chosen the World Bank’s president for long.