The World Bank is a key institution in the fight against increasing inequality and climate degradation. But David Malpass, the man nominated by the US to lead it, is hostile to its purpose and values

Will anyone dare to speak up against United States President Donald Trump over his disastrous and malign choice of David Malpass to become president of the World Bank?

Will Theresa May show her much-vaunted global vision to defend an institution that is one of the United Kingdom’s best achievements, forged out of the dust and ashes of the Second World War? Will Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, Shinzo Abe, Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, Joko Widodo, Muhammadu Buhari, all of whose countries benefitted from World Bank aid, join hands to defy Mr Trump?

Will Tokyo Archbishop Isao Kikuchi have a quiet word with fellow Catholic Taro Aso, deputy prime minister and finance minister of Japan, this year’s host of the G20, to remind him that several billion people in developing countries depend on the World Bank funds?

Indeed, all seven billion of us on this fragile planet look to the bank for suggestions about how to deal with the immense issues that threaten the safety and survival of our Earth.