While waiting for new candidates, the Fund is run by John Lipsky, who previously had many ties with JP Morgan. Strauss-Kahn will remain in prison, under suicide watch. Among the candidates for the presidency of the IMF there are people from Turkey, Singapore, India, China.

New York (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) has resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), several days after being convicted of attempted rape and violence against a maid in a hotel in New York .

In a letter to the international organization he says he wanted to leave the post, that "I have served with honour and devotion" to devote "all my energy to proving my innocence”. 62 year old DSK is in prison, under 24 hour watch to prevent an attempt at suicide, and has been denied bail. But today his lawyers will present another bail plea. Meanwhile, the 32 year-old woman who accused him has gone into hiding and speaks only through her lawyer, being "scared and incredulous," after discovering the identity of his assailant.

The troubled sex life of DSK was well known and in the past he has had other similar problems. Many, especially in France, wonder however, if this latest scandal is not also an attempt to prevent Strauss-Kahn running as a candidate for the French presidency or continue his work in the IMF, which has become a very powerful body under his leadership. Yesterday Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary said that DSK could not continue to lead the IMF.

While waiting for new candidates, DSK's deputy, John Lipsky, will take its place at the head of the IMF. U.S born Lipski was previously vice president of JP Morgan Investment Bank and JP Morgan chief economist.

Traditionally, the head of IMF should be a European, but many people are asking that new candidates not be chosen on the basis of nationality, rather on the basis of personal qualities. Last month, representatives of the Group of 24, which includes Brazil, China and Mexico, called for "an open, transparent and merit-based" choice for the heads of the IMF (and World Bank, usually attributed to an American) .

DSK's resignation opens the possibility of choosing a Brazilian, or Chinese, or Indian candidate. The names currently being rumoured include  Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's Finance Minister, Kemal Dervis, a former Turkish economy minister, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Indian, who has worked for the IMF, Min Zhu, special adviser to the IMF and former deputy governor of the Bank of China. Under the guidance of DSK China has become the third most important partner in the organization, which includes 187 members.  

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