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Politics will have an unusually large role in picking a new chief for the European Central Bank this year, as the switchover coincides with European Parliament elections and the choice of a new Commission. But beyond the horse-trading over the right person foECB debates switching course before change of helmsman
Politics will have an unusually large role in picking a new chief for the European Central Bank this year, as the switchover coincides with European Parliament elections and the choice of a new Commission. But beyond the horse-trading over the right person for the presidency, some policymakers and observers are debating whether the Frankfurt institution needs new priorities after 20 years in operation. «Good luck stepping into the shoes» of 71-year-old Mario Draghi after he leaves in October, a European source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP. The Italian has shepherded the eurozone through eight years of crisis with sometimes dramatic steps, as well as seeing off frequent political challenges to the central bank's independence. He has extended the bank's «toolbox» of options for supporting the economy with trillion-euro stimulus programmes and negative interest rates. And with «forward guidance» about future policy, the ECB now communicates more clearly and forcefully with markets about how it will pursue its price stability target. One widely tipped candidate to succeed Draghi, Bank of Finland governor Olli Rehn, believes the central bank must evolve further in the... Read more