Eccentric in tone and cryptic in content, the resignation letter of a senior International Monetary Fund official released last week was, nevertheless, important for what it implied: the IMF is failing in two key respects. It has not provided independent intellectual leadership, most evidently on the eurozone crisis. And it is unprepared to provide stability for the next big global crisis. With Spain and possibly Europe inching back towards the abyss, that crisis looms. The possibility of the IMF being missing in action is cause to sound the alarm bells.
最近公佈的國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)一名前高級官員的一封辭職信語氣怪異,內容隱晦,但其暗含的意思相當重要:IMF在兩個關鍵問題上出現了失誤。一是它沒有提供獨立的理論領導,這一點在歐元區危機上表現得最爲明顯。二是它沒有準備好爲下一場全球大危機提供穩定性。鑑於西班牙乃至整個歐洲可能正再度走向深淵,那場危機已出現在地平線上。IMF在緊要關頭「失蹤」的可能性足以敲響警鐘。