"We have to be realistic. When leaders and ministers meet in the G20 context, they spell out mutually acceptable goals and define a strategy to meet them. When they return home, they have to focus instead on national interests and objectives. Short-term challenges dominate in the domestic arena, while global progress requires a longer-term focus. The reports that the IMF staff prepare for the G20 are typically anodyne and tend to soft-pedal the description of necessary reforms, but they do focus on the right issues to motivate G20 discussions: collective actions to strengthen global growth, avoid the risk of a renewed financial crisis, reduce payments imbalances, and stabilize financial systems through appropriate regulations. But expecting the resulting discussions to lead to dramatic improvements in policy implementation requires a very sunny disposition.

Similarly, the agenda for reforming IMF governance is well specified and has been agreed by G20 leaders. The IMF Executive Board is making progress toward deciding how to complete the process. Implementation, however, depends crucially on legislative action by the U.S. Congress, which has no realistic chance of approval in the coming months."