VIENNA (MNI) — European Central Bank Executive Board member
Juergen Stark hinted Thursday evening that he might talk more openly
about his decision to quit the ECB once he has actually left his post.
After a speech here, the ECB’s hawkish chief economist was asked
about his surprise resignation, which he handed in six days ago. He
replied that he was stepping down for “personal reason,” repeating the
explanation given on the day he announced his decision.
“I won’t tell you more tonight. I am still in office and I wouldn’t
be here if I wasn’t,” he said. If he wasn’t still in the post, “maybe I
would tell you something completely different,” Stark added. “I will
keep my position as long as my successor hasn’t yet moved into my office
and after that I might tell you more about the personal reasons.”
It has been widely speculated that Stark decided to leave the ECB
because he was in vehement disagreement with the decision to relaunch
its bond buying program in defense of Italian and Spanish sovereign
debt. He has also frequently warned against the bank’s low official
interest rates, as he did again in his speech tonight, and yet the ECB
last week abandoned the tightening cycle that Stark had so strongly
advocated.
Last weekend, Germany announced it would nominate Deputy Finance
Minister Jorg Asmussen to replace Stark. Since Stark’s departure would
leave no German on the Executive Board, Asmussen’s approval by EU
political leaders is considered virtually a fait accomopli.
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