How do you deal with Donald Trump? The Federal Reserve chairman Jay Powell chooses to ignore the rantings and trust that his constitutional position as chairman of the central bank, reporting to Congress, will protect him.
Britain has opted to get along, which is why Rachel Reeves may be hopeful of returning to London with a trade accord of some kind when she attends the spring meetings of finance ministers in Washington next week.
Brussels has adopted a less fawning approach but has avoided the Zelensky trap of seeking to tell an unhinged American President that he knows best.
Where then does the president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, sit in this universe?
He starts with a disadvantage in that he was thrust into the role by Joe Biden after Democratic grandees and climate change warriors Al Gore and John Kerry effectively defenestrated Republican predecessor David Malpass.
Banga’s redeeming feature, as far as the White House and a Republican-dominated Congress is concerned, is that his previous job was chief executive of Mastercard, which means he has good private sector, financially literate credentials.
Hard to grasp: Ajay Banga starts with a disadvantage in that he was thrust into the role by Joe Biden
An inspirational president of the World Bank, in the image of some of his better predecessors, Robert McNamara and James Wolfensohn, he is not.
Banga regards media interest in the work of the World Bank as a bit of a chore.
His appearance at a Zoom briefing on the upcoming spring meetings of the Fund was a monologue followed by half-a-dozen questions, and lacked all the free-wheeling spirit of an open, live press conference.
Here was an opportunity for Banga to inspire. There are no shortage of humanitarian issues or war-torn countries to consider.
In Britain in the last week there has been some terrific and brave reporting by the BBC from Sudan on a war which has claimed 150,000 lives and is described by the United Nations as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
David Lammy also had his best moment as Foreign Secretary, even if one profoundly disagrees with what he has to say about Israel-Gaza.
His determination to lead a ‘pathway to peace’ in Sudan, where charities say 30million people are desperately in need, is admirable.
The UK is promising an extra £120million for the region. Rich nearby Gulf states, riven with dissent over which rebel group they are supporting militarily in this horrific conflict, chose to sit on their hands.
Banga might have used his engagement with the media to make the case for unlocking US assistance, cancelled by Trump and Elon Musk, to a benighted region.
Instead of challenging his close neighbours at the White House in Washington, Banga’s choice was to play down the loss of USAID funds.
These are the biggest source of emergency assistance across the globe. Banga insisted that ‘aid is a temporary method to help countries’.
He expressed understanding for the fiscal problems of the West which had caused Britain, the US and others to take a scythe to official development assistance.
In choosing to desist from criticism of Trumpism, the World Bank president may be aiming to help unlock $80billion to $85billion for the next round of funding for the International Development Association which provides grants to the poorest countries.
Less of the dry bank manager and more humanity would be the courageous path.
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