Former World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz did not just lose his job because of his girlfriend but because of his ‘disastrous’ leadership, says Herman Wijffels, Dutch representative at the bank, in an interview with the Volkskrant on Monday.

Wijffels, who chaired the World Bank commission investigating Wolfowitz, said Wolfowitz might not have had to resign if he had been a good leader.
‘He made the bank unsafe. The trust in the bank became distrust,’ Wijffels said. ‘Furthermore, he did not develop a coherent strategy for the bank. I had been in talks with him about it, but he didn’t sense the need for it.’
The new president, Wijffels said, would have to help the bank decide what its added value is in the light of new developments in development aid – such as the launch of the Gates Foundation.
‘I think the bank should focus on new global issues, such as the greenhouse effect, pandemics, water shortages and energy, Wijffels said. ‘All these problems have an enormous effect on the poorest people.’