For two years momentum has been building for a German – Axel Weber, the Bundesbank president – to become the next head of the European Central Bank when Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet retires in the autumn of next year. The idea is a thoroughly bad one. It is time for Germany, the strongest country in the eurozone, to say it will not field its own candidate, and make way for a nominee from a smaller state.
The issue has gained importance as the ECB has taken on a more political role as guardian of the embattled single currency. But German commentators who link Mr Weber and the stability of the currency miss the point. Giving the Germans the top monetary job would probably inflame north-south divisions in Europe. Yet, at the same time, Berlin would have a greater chance of enforcing policies it supports if it continues the current arrangement of two “ordinary” German representatives on the ECB Governing Council, rather than one of these taking over the presidency.
The days are, sadly, long gone when European politicians could claim that members of the ECB council represent the whole eurozone, rather than their individual countries. The nearly three-year-old credit crisis has generated economic nationalism around the world. The ECB is no exception. Even in 1998 the selection of the first ECB president, Dutchman Wim Duisenberg, was heavily politicised. It was overshadowed by horse-trading between France and Germany regarding the French candidate, Mr Trichet, eventually taking over.