Now that the curtain has finally fallen on the lengthy drama of former IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus' succession, the time has come to distribute grades to the players on stage.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder earns a D-.

Schroeder decided from the start that the next managing director at the IMF would be a compatriot. The French had had it good for too long running international institutions. Now it was Germany's turn to secure the high exposure that comes with the job.