BERLIN (MNI) – The German government on Friday denied a media
report that it would like to discuss the succession for ECB President
Jean-Claude Trichet at the next Ecofin meeting in January in connection
with the question of who will succeed outgoing ECB Executive Board
member Gertrude Tumpel-Gugerell.
Germany favors a combined solution for both positions, German
business daily Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) reported Thursday,
citing unidentified sources from Berlin.
“The questions raised in this newspaper article are not a concern
of the federal government at the moment,” German government spokesman
Christoph Steegmans said at a regular press conference here. “There are
no announcements to be made in that direction whatsoever,” he added.
Tumpel-Gugerell’s mandate ends on May 31, 2011; Trichet’s term
expires on October 31. German Bundesbank president Axel Weber is one of
the top candidates for the Trichet succession.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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