After the shock of Sri Mulyani Indrawati's resignation at the beginning of May, international investors in Indonesia breathed a sigh of relief last week as a banker was appointed to run the country's finances.
Reformist finance minister Indrawati left President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's SBY cabinet to take up a senior position at the World Bank, apparently pushed or surrendering following a relentless attack on her integrity and competence by Golkar Party foes over her handling of the Rp6.7 trillion $730 million Bank Century rescue in 2008.
She will be succeeded by Agus Martowardojo, the highly regarded president director of Mandiri Bank, the country's biggest lender by asset size. Highly regarded, that is, by people who...