Lagarde aims for IMF top post

PARIS, May 25 (UPI) -- French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde said she would pursue the top job at the International Monetary Fund, despite objections from emerging countries.

The announcement sets up a schedule of international lobbying for Lagarde, who will meet with representatives of IMF member countries to press her case, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Lagarde said she called rival candidate Agustin Cartens, the governor of the central bank of Mexico, and they were "happy with the competition."

But Lagarde is also facing an increasingly vocal group of emerging nations who argue the standard choice of a European for the job is no longer the best option, given the increasing impact emerging countries have on the global economy.

IMF representatives from the BRIC countries -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- voiced their concerns in a statement issued Tuesday.

Choosing a European on regional affiliation alone was "undermines the legitimacy of the fund," the statement said, calling the practice of selecting a European, "obsolete."

"Adequate representation of emerging market and developing members in the fund's management is critical to its legitimacy and effectiveness," the group said.

Lagarde, known as an able diplomat, said, being a European "shouldn't necessarily be a plus, but it shouldn't be a minus either."