Lagarde may stake claim as first female IMF chief
Lagarde, 55, has the negotiating skills and an understanding of Europe's sovereign debt crisis needed for the post, say analysts including Charles Grant at the Centre for European Reform. "We should choose the best candidate, whether European, Antarctican or Uruguayan," said Grant, executive director of the London-based research group. "The French have a record of strong candidates and the obvious one now would be Lagarde."