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The Financial Times had anticipated it and, despite the denial of the person concerned, the rumors in Brussels and Frankfurt have never stopped circulating: Christine Lagarde could leave the ECB before the expiry of her mandate, scheduled for October 2027. “It’s a possibility”, admitted Lagarde in an interview with Les Echos, explaining that “a European voice” could be needed in the campaign for the next French presidential elections, where the Macronians risk being beaten by the right of the Rassemblement National. But Lagarde’s early farewell risks causing a political earthquake in the EU, where next January there will be the so-called Midterm, a turning point for the EU’s top jobs. And already in recent weeks, in Brussels, there were those who did not exclude a whirlwind that would be sensational, with Lagarde at the head of the Commission and the ECB led by Berlin. These are, it must be underlined, mere indiscretions, often self-fueled by the chatter of the so-called ‘Brussels bubble’.
The point, in any case, is that a possible early farewell of Lagarde would loosen the rope for the succession, more delicate than ever in a period in which the EU and the euro navigate between leaps in inflation and the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the crisis in the Middle East. According to Lagarde, “the captain of the ECB ship must remain on board” in this “period of turbulence”. However, when asked about a possible early resignation, Lagarde replied: ‘It’s possible. I think that a European voice must be heard in the French presidential debate. Tomorrow Lagarde is expected in Provence for the ‘economic meetings’, in which the President of the European Council Antonio Costa will also participate. And more lights than expected will light up on the appointment. Last February, before the outbreak of the war on Iran, “I could say with a certain relief that the mission was accomplished, that I was 70 years old and that, in the end, I could perhaps retire a little early” the president of the ECB had stated in mid-June, giving rise to the flurry of rumors about her future. But, at the same time, Lagarde explained that in the face of the return of inflation, “I have a sense of duty and I believe that when there is a storm, the captain stays on board”.
However, he never hid his concern for the future of France. «Achieving the objective and handing over the keys to a European central bank that has guaranteed price stability for our fellow citizens is the number one imperative. Imperative number two is the protection of our currency, so that the euro is stable, safe, a respected currency, a strong currency in the world, given that today it is the second international currency. The third imperative is the one I spoke to you about before: the anchoring of France within the European Union”, he explained.