Klaas Knot and Spain's candidate vie to lead the ECB
Former Dutch central bank chief Klaas Knot and Spain's Pablo Hernández de Cos are the only two candidates to succeed Christine Lagarde at the bank that sets interest rates for the euro, with eurozone leaders due to decide by the end of the year.
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Klaas Knot, former president of De Nederlandsche Bank, and Spain's Pablo Hernández de Cos are the two candidates left to succeed Christine Lagarde as president of the European Central Bank. The window for eurozone countries to nominate candidates closed last Friday, and no other names came forward. The Netherlands and Spain each back their own candidate. Lagarde has announced she will leave the bank early, in February.
The decision lies with eurozone heads of government. They need a majority of 16 of the 21 eurozone countries, and those countries must together represent at least 65% of the population. Eurozone finance ministers, meeting as the Eurogroup, discussed the appointment on Monday in Brussels.
What happens next
- This Friday: eurozone heads of government meet in Dublin
- End of November: they meet in Brussels
- Mid-December: they meet again in Brussels, with the appointment due by the end of the year
Knot was already part of the ECB's leadership during the euro crisis of 2011-2012, and then through the coronavirus pandemic and the high inflation of 2021-2022. The bank guards price stability and protects the euro, which has existed since 1999. In 2012, Lagarde's predecessor Mario Draghi pledged to do "whatever it takes" to save the currency, and the pressure on financial markets eased.
Source: DNB
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