POLITICO Brussels Playbook: More top jobs — Brexit, oh Brexit — VDL makes the rounds

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DEADLINE LOOMING: EU finance ministers vowed to put forward one candidate to succeed Christine Lagarde at the helm of the International Monetary Fund by the end of this month. It’s now the 11th hour, but there’s no individual European front-runner in sight — making an impasse (and a non-European at the IMF’s helm) more likely.

Among the contenders: POLITICO’s combined reporting efforts suggest that former Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem has a friend, or maybe even two, in Berlin — Chancellor Angela Merkel has reasons to be gracious to her Social Democratic deputy, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, and the SPD in turn has reasons to support at least one Dutch comrade for a top job.

There’s also another name in the mix, World Bank whatsapp number list CEO Kristalina Georgieva’s — the I-fit-just-about-any-top-job-profile candidate. While she’s too old by the IMF’s bylaws (managing directors must be appointed before their 65th birthdays, and Georgieva turned 65 last year), rules can be altered, her fans insist. Other continents, which may have less of a sense of entitlement to the IMF job, seem to be … well … better organized, diplomats say, and have qualified people waiting in the wings.

Crucial question: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire — France currently holds the G7 presidency — serves as the EU’s informateur, or talent scout, on the matter. Calling a vote among his European peers is an option, according to EU diplomats. Consensus, or even unanimity, would be the best look, as the rest of the world is watching. But nothing close to that currently exists.