European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is expected to step down from her role before her eight-year term ends in October next year, the Financial Times reported.
Lagarde wants to leave before the French presidential election in April next year, which would allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to find her replacement together, the report said, citing an unidentified person familiar with her thoughts on the matter. It is not clear yet when she might exit, the report said.
“President Lagarde is totally focused on her mission and has not taken any decision regarding the end of her term,” an ECB spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement.
Photo: Reuters
Lagarde has been linked with an early departure from the ECB before but sought in June last year to quash talk that she is planning to head the World Economic Forum, saying she is “fully determined to deliver my mission and I’m determined to complete my term.”
She told Bloomberg Television more recently that she is “not a quitter,” while saying that she was surprised to learn on accepting the ECB role in 2019 that the job carried a term of eight years rather than five.
However, speculation ramped up again, following the announcement that Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau will leave his post prematurely, offering Macron the opportunity to replace him before elections next year that could be won by the far right.
A decision on Lagarde’s job would typically be taken in the summer before her term ends. But European governments might choose to fast-track finding a successor to avoid having to deal with Marine Le Pen or her protege, Jordan Bardella.
Spain is prepared if Europe accelerates its timetable, Spanish Minister of Economy Carlos Cuerpo said this week, highlighting his country’s desire “to play a leading role in the new Executive Board once the opening vacancies are renewed.”
Bank for International Settlements general manager Pablo Hernandez de Cos of Spain is among the front-runners to take over from Lagarde, along with former Dutch central bank president Klaas Knot, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel and Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel have also expressed an interest.
There is certainly no consensus on when to deal with succession at the ECB, however. Austrian Minister of Finance Markus Marterbauer said on Monday that he backs maintaining the standard timeline to appoint Lagarde’s replacement.
His German counterpart, Lars Klingbeil, struck a similar note.
“The ECB has timetables, and we are going to stick with them and — as always — find a good solution,” he said.
French Minister of Finance Roland Lescure declined to answer that question, saying simply that Lagarde is “obviously a great president of the ECB.”
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