拉加德判決給IMF工作蒙上陰影
The board of the International Monetary Fund moved quickly to back Christine Lagarde after her conviction by a French court this week on charges of neglecting her ministerial duties.
一個法國法庭本週判定國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)總裁克里斯蒂娜.拉加德(Christine Lagarde)在擔任法國財長期間玩忽職守之後，IMF董事會第一時間表示了對拉加德的支持。
But despite that vote of “full confidence”, the legal travails of the fund’s managing director still cast an unwelcome shadow and could undermine the institution’s authority and work in controversial areas, analysts said.
但分析人士表示，雖然獲得“完全信任”投票，但拉加德遭遇的法律困境仍帶來了不利影響，可能削弱該機構在有爭議領域的威信和工作。
“There is a considerable cost which I don’t see an obvious way around,” says Peter Doyle, a former IMF economist. “Every time the IMF now issues a ruling [the conviction] is going to be part of the background.” Noting that Eurosceptic critics in the UK could seize on the issue, he added: “ Imagine what happens next time Madame Lagarde has something to say about the Brexit process?”
“這樣做有相當大的代價，我看不出有什麼變通的辦法，”IMF前經濟學家彼得.多伊爾(Peter Doyle)說，“IMF現在每次做出一個裁決，（這項定罪）都將是背景的一部分。”在提到英國的歐洲懷疑論者可能抓住這件事做文章時，他補充道：“想象一下拉加德下次對英國退歐進程發表評論時會發生什麼？”
The case predates Ms Lagarde’s time at the IMF and she has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The former French finance minister and the IMF have also sought to portray the ruling as political, pointing to backing she received from the government in Paris soon after Monday’s ruling, as well as support from the US and elsewhere.
該案發生在拉加德加入IMF之前，而她一直否認有任何不當行爲。這位法國前財長和IMF也都試圖將該判決描述爲政治博弈的產物，強調週一的判決宣佈後不久她就得到了法國政府以及美國等國家的支持。
Despite finding her negligent for declining in 2008 to appeal a 403m arbitration ruling and for authorising a controversial payment to the flamboyant businessman Bernard Tapie, the court decided not to impose any sentence and ruled the conviction would not go on Ms Lagarde’s record.
法庭認定她玩忽職守，因爲她在2008年拒絕對一項涉及4.03億歐元的仲裁裁決提出上訴——使得行爲張揚的商人貝爾納.塔皮(Bernard Tapie)獲得了這筆有爭議的賠償——但法庭決定不施加任何刑期，該判決也不會留下犯罪記錄。
She has made clear her eagerness to move on after five years of legal manoeuvres. “I am very happy to not appeal this decision and to focus all my attention, all my time, all my efforts, all my energy and enthusiasm to my mission as head of the IMF,” she said.
在經歷5年官司纏身之後，她明確表示渴望翻過這一頁。“我很高興，不會對判決提起上訴，我會集中自己的所有注意力、所有時間、所有努力、所有精力和熱情，完成IMF總裁的使命，”她說。
One particular task now confronting her is managing her relationship with the US, the fund’s biggest shareholder. Ms Lagarde studiously avoided open criticism of Donald Trump during his successful presidential campaign. But she also spoke out against the kind of protectionist trade policies he put at the centre of his White House bid.
處理與該機構最大股東美國的關係是她現在面臨的其中一項任務。在唐納德.特朗普(Donald Trump)競選總統期間，拉加德刻意避免對其公開批評。但她也公開表示反對特朗普在競選中一直強調的那類保護主義貿易政策。
Mr Trump won the election by railing against a “globalist” system, institutions such as the IMF and the pro-trade and economic liberalisation agenda they have advocated for more than 70 years. Since the election, John Bolton, a candidate for a senior role in the administration, has proposed major reforms of the IMF and World Bank, while others continue to talk about a systemic shake-up.
特朗普贏得大選靠的是痛斥國際貨幣基金組織等機構，以及這些組織倡導了70多年的支持貿易和經濟自由化的議程。自當選以來，特朗普政府高級職位候選人約翰.博爾頓(John Bolton)已提出對IMF和世界銀行(World Bank)進行重大改革，而其他人還在談論系統性整改。
“A pseudo-conviction for negligence is probably the least of the worries for the incoming Trump administration,” said Edwin Truman, a former senior official at the US Treasury and Federal Reserve. “The broader question is how the Trump administration will view these types of institutions and how they advance US interests.”
曾在美國財政部和美聯儲(Fed)擔任高級官員的埃德溫.杜魯門(Edwin Truman)表示：“對玩忽職守的貌似判決很可能是即將上臺的特朗普政府最不擔心的地方。更爲整體的問題是特朗普政府將如何看待這類機構，以及它們將如何促進美國利益。”
Others argue that Ms Lagarde’s treatment by the IMF will reinforce concerns among populist critics about the perceived impunity of political elites.
其他人認爲，IMF對拉加德的待遇將加劇民粹主義批評者的擔憂，即政治精英似乎不會受懲罰。
“It will play to this perception out there and this growing lack of confidence in institutions and this idea that everyone at the top just gets off and the system is rigged,” said Tom Bernes, a former Canadian representative at the IMF now at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. “That is an unfortunate corrosive effect.”
加拿大前IMF代表，現就職於加拿大國際治理創新中心(Centre for International Governance Innovation)的湯姆.伯恩斯(Tom Bernes)表示：“此事將助長這種觀念，令人對機構越來越缺乏信心，認爲所有高層領導都可免受處罰，整個體制被操縱了。那是個不幸的腐蝕效果。”
