Wolfowitz Leaves the World Bank Finally ... Unfortunately?

So Wolfowitz has left the World Bank, after a dodgy case of corruption where he appears to have engineered a pay rise for his girlfriend. In an organisation that must try hard to reduce corruption in the developing world this is obviously the right move; it is not acceptable to have corruption at the highest levels of such an organisation if it is to set a good example to those who need guidance in improving their economies. However there may be a downside.

A few years ago when he joined the World Bank Wolfowitz penned an excellent article in the Financial Times on the case for reduced farm subsidies in the EU / USA / Japan. I won't go over the arguments now, however they are summed up very well by the BBC here. Suffice to say it appears to be an issue that Wolfowitz would have given a great deal of attention to, and without him there is a concern that that focus could be lost. It is likely that George Bush will chose his replacement, and given that the US are not in favour of reducing farm subsidies, it appears possible that his successor will not give this issue the same level of attention. As a reduction in farm subsidies is such a key issue in reducing poverty in the developing world, lets hope that this is not the case, and that Bush makes a wise choice.