And so Paul Wolfowitz has resigned as head of the World Bank. The resignation was pretty much inevitable- Wolfowitz was dripping blood politically and it was only a question of when he would decide to fall on his sword rather than take another and another blow. Originally the reason for his resignation lay in the fact that his girlfriend, Shaha Riza, had been employed by the Bank and was than transferred lucratively to the state department. Questions were asked about the President's role in her transfer and particularly in her salary deals- and those questions prompted some to suggest that Wolfowitz himself was guilty of corruption.

This came as a significant blow to a President of the Bank who had from the moment he took office prioritised the battle against corruption- the scandal involving Miss Riza looked to be exactly the type of scandal that Mr Wolfowitz would penalise a third world regime for- and therefore the argument that he had to go was strengthened.