EU Parliament votes for Lagarde as ECB head

Christine Lagarde has often been the number one player in her life: first woman at the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), first French Minister of Economic Affairs, first head of the prestigious law firm Baker McKenzie. To crown her career, the Frenchwoman is now expected to be the first president of the European Central Bank (ECB). On Tuesday, the deputies in the European Parliament have expressed a majority for the 63-year-old.

Lagarde received 394 out of 649 votes cast in Strasbourg. 206 MPs spoke against them, 49 abstained.

The vote in parliament was mainly symbolic. Lagarde had already been answering the MEPs in Brussels at the beginning of September.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will presumably succeed to ECB President Mario Draghi in November, had previously received the approval of the Economic Committee of the European Parliament.

The EU leaders had nominated the former head of the International Monetary Fund in July to succeed Mario Draghi at the head of the ECB. The official decision is due to fall in October.

The central bank based in Frankfurt decides on the monetary policy for the euro zone and among other things determines the key interest rate, which is also important for savers and borrowers. The main objective of the ECB is price stability.