January 4, 2012
Chancellor Angela Merkel wanted Jörg Asmussen to be named the chief economist of the European Central Bank. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had a candidate of his own. In the end, bank head Mario Draghi opted for compromise over confrontation and selected a Belgian for the job instead.
Who will become the chief economist at the European Central Bank? The answer to this question had been anxiously awaited ever since the previous chief economist, German economist Jürgen Stark, disappointed over the course being charted by the ECB, announced his resignation last September.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel had wanted Jörg Asmussen to take over. Assmussen, a state secretary in the German Finance Ministry, replaced Stark on the ECB Executive Board at the beginning of this year. But on Tuesday, the ECB announced that Merkel will not get her way. Instead, the Belgian Peter Praet was named as chief economist and Asmussen was given responsibility for international and European relations. He said that he is "satisfied" with the position.
For ECB President Mario Draghi, the reshuffling of the Executive Board was a delicate task, one that involved taking into account both the qualifications of the board members and -- perhaps more importantly -- national sensitivities.
What emerged was a classic compromise: Praet rather than Asmussen -- or French President Nicolas Sarkozy's candidate Benoît Cœuré -- will head the economics division (officially, the position of chief economist does not exist). Cœuré will be responsible for market operations, which puts him in charge of the controversial purchases of the government bonds of ailing euro countries.
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