The pressure continues to mount on Paul Wolfowitz, the president of the World Bank appointed by George Bush, over his role in approving pay increases and promotions for his girlfriend Shaha Riza, a bank employee.
After stinging remarks by a key Dutch minister warning of a "crisis" for the bank's credibility, the New York Times weighs in today with a leader calling on Wolfowitz to step aside. "He should resign because he made clean governance his main cause at the bank and has fallen far short of his own standards," the NYT argued. The Los Angeles Times also called for Wolfowitz to go in a leader today, saying he had "showed a remarkably cavalier attitude toward insider dealing and spending public money".
The Washington Post has been combing through the affair, and produced a heavyweight piece detailing Wolfowitz's contractual quibbling and clashes with staff since his appointment, with Wolfowitz demanding a bigger salary and special clauses allowing him to keep payments for making speeches and writing books while he is president.
Meanwhile, attention has also focussed on the unusual arrangements involving Riza, and the mysterious organisation that she has been seconded to while still on the World Bank's payroll.
The affair centres around Riza's secondment and substantial pay rises in order to avoid conflicts of interest involving her boyfriend, Wolfowitz. She was transferred to the state department, and now works for an institution called Foundation for the Future - funded by donations from various states but the vast bulk coming from the US government. But she appears to be the foundation's only employee.
The website worldbankpresident.org has a round-up of links, including a Huffington Post entry with details of the foundation. The Washington Post has also carried a piece on the subject, quoting a commentator: ""It is basically just her running this thing."
The Financial Times - which has been the frontrunner in breaking the story - reports on Wolfowitz's attempts to fight back, and quotes a European official as saying that Wolfowitz's survival depended on continuing support from the US.
