BERLIN (MNI) – The German government on Friday again declined to
say if it will support Italian central bank governor Mario Draghi to
succeed Jean-Claude Trichet as president of the European Central Bank.
German daily Bild Friday cited government sources as saying that
Chancellor Angela Merkel had decided to back Draghi. Germany wants to
support “the most German of all remaining candidates,” and Draghi is
clearly that candidate, the paper quoted a source as saying.
However, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said today that the
government’s stance had not changed and that it will make clear which
candidate it supports “in time,” ahead of the European Council meeting
in June, when the Trichet succession is to be decided.
On Wednesday, Seibert had said that for the government it is
decisive that the next ECB president have international experience, “can
continue to lead the important role the ECB is playing in overcoming the
financial and economic crisis,” and “shares our views on currency
stability.”
Nothing has changed regarding those criteria, Seibert said today.
On Tuesday at a joint press conference in Rome with Italian Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi, French President Nicolas Sarkozy endorsed
Draghi.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the
Eurogroup, also implicitly endorsed the Italian central bank chief on
Thursday, saying, “I don’t see notable differences between what
[Sarkozy] said and what I think.”
Bundesbank President Axel Weber declared last month that he would
step down at the end of April, one year before the scheduled end of his
term, and that he would not be a candidate for the top ECB job. Weber’s
departure made Draghi the leading contender.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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