The announced resignation of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann was successful and consistent. The central bank governor has struggled for ten years for moderate monetary and debt policy. His departure is a loss to the stability of the eurozone. what is his size? This becomes clear when the caliphate is established.
Has Jens Weidmann lost hope that he can still achieve great things for monetary stability in the eurozone? It seems so. He will not be blamed. He has given the warning for more than ten years. He kept warning. Consistent and clear, but still diplomatic – as central bankers do perfectly: before pleasing quiet EU countries for a long time with the help of the financial press, before raising interest rates, before pegging Europe’s national debt.
Several times the words of warning by the 53-year-old economist, who earned a high degree of respect in the advisory board and then as economic policy adviser to Chancellor Angela Merkel, have faded several times. The headwinds in the powerful Council of the European Central Bank, to which the head of the Bundesbank belongs, was very great.
Two years ago, it looked as if he could inherit outgoing European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and finally shape European monetary policy according to his convictions. Nothing came of it. In the end, France’s Christine Lagarde stepped into the race. In return, Ursula von der Leyen was allowed to become the President of the European Union Commission – a fictional political trade. Since then, Weidmann has appeared more isolated among Europe’s central bankers. But at least he heard. had become.
As financial politicians and central bankers rush to pay respect to Weidmann for his clear stance, people rub their hands in political Berlin. Amid the controversy over who will get which cabinet position in the future federal government, a new senior position is suddenly available. Some believe that the earlier economic approach of Isabel Schnabel could move from the ECB’s board of directors to the top of the Bundesbank. In addition to the other candidates, former Secretary of State for Finance and writer Olaf Schulz, Jörg Kükes, is being traded as Liedmann’s successor.
Once the successor is settled, one can gauge what Jens Weidmann’s departure means for Europe’s monetary policy and the interests of investors and savers. No matter who he becomes: It would be good to take Weidmann’s principles as an example.