Though he’s given no indication of giving up his post, the race to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the helm of the International Monetary Fund has begun. French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is considered the favorite to take over Strauss-Kahn’s spot as he battles charges of sexual assault. The former head of a Chicago law firm who lived in the U.S. for 25 years, Lagarde is favored by Europeans who desperately want to keep the post—they have controlled the IMF since it was created in the 1940s. Although one of the biggest drawbacks for Lagarde is her nationality—she is French, like Strauss-Kahn—many applaud the idea of a woman (she’d be the first in the post) being one of the most powerful people in the world. “What’s happened with Strauss-Kahn underscores how great it would be to have a woman in the role,” said former IMF chief economist Kenneth S. Rogoff.