EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) president Christine Lagarde has attempted to calm speculation about her stepping down early that has called into question the central bank’s separation from politics, telling the Wall Street Journal she expects to complete her term.
Lagarde’s status as leader of Europe’s most important financial institution was plunged into doubt this week after the Financial Times reported she planned to leave her job ahead of next spring’s French presidential election, giving outgoing leader Emmanuel Macron a say in picking her successor.
In an interview with the WSJ on Thursday, Lagarde dampened speculation about an imminent exit but still left the door slightly ajar to the possibility that she might leave before the end of her contract in October 2027.
Reuters exclusively reported that Lagarde had sent a private message to fellow policymakers reassuring them that she was still concentrating on her job and that they would hear it from her, rather than the press, if she wanted to step down. The ECB has said that Lagarde has not made a decision about the end of her term, but stopped short of denying the FT report.
Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau announced plans to step down from his job last week, in a move that gives President Macron a chance to pick the next French central bank chief, drawing sharp criticism from the far-right who called the move anti-democratic
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