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Jens Weidmann with Angela Merkel: The German voice had a difficult time in the ECB Council
Photo: TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP
The federal government regrets Jens Weidmann's announcement that he will be stepping down from the head of the Bundesbank.
According to government spokesman Steffen Seibert,
Chancellor
Angela Merkel
has great respect for his decision.
In the eyes of the CDU politician, Weidmann represented the Bundesbank “outstandingly nationally and internationally”.
The 53-year-old Weidmann had surprisingly announced in the morning that he would resign at the turn of the year, according to the Bundesbank for personal reasons.
The falcon in the monetary policy council of the European Central Bank (ECB) also warned that directional decisions must be "lived".
"It will be crucial not to look one-sidedly at deflation risks, but also not to lose sight of prospective inflation risks."
New government should determine succession
Merkel thanked Weidmann for his work "in these very challenging years of his term in office in terms of monetary and financial policy," said Seibert.
"It will now be the task of a new, future federal government to find a successor."
According to the Bundesbank Act, the federal government proposes a candidate for the office.
The Federal President has the final say in the appointment.
Two women in particular are likely to have high hopes for the post.
On the one hand Claudia Maria Buch - the former economy has been Vice President of the Bundesbank since 2014.
On the other hand, Isabel Schnabel, who was also a member of the Expert Council until 2019 and has been a member of the ECB Executive Board since 2020.
A spokesman for the finance ministry pointed out that the federal government that was merely acting after the election would have to exercise political restraint.
It is therefore assumed that the coming federal government will take care of the personnel.
SPD chancellor candidate
Olaf Scholz
paid his respects to the outgoing Bundesbank president.
The Federal Minister of Finance said he had shown extraordinary commitment at the top of the central bank over the past ten years.
"He not only had a decisive influence on monetary policy in Germany and Europe during this period, but also promoted the further development of the international financial markets."
FDP wants continuity
FDP leader
Christian Lindner
, who will be the future finance minister in a traffic light coalition, tweeted that he regretted Weidmann's resignation. "He stood for a stability-oriented monetary policy, the importance of which is growing in the face of inflation risks." With him, the Bundesbank has always been an important voice in Europe. "The FDP recommends Germany continuity."
Many in banking circles also express their regret over Weidmann's withdrawal.
Christian Sewing
, President of the BDB Banking Association, praised his achievements: »Jens Weidmann was a strong President of the Bundesbank for a decade and an internationally respected voice in monetary policy. Even in turbulent times, including the euro crisis and the corona pandemic, he defended the monetary policy stability course, but at the same time kept an eye on the overall economic situation. For this he deserves our great recognition and our respect. "
The President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW),
Marcel Fratzscher
, in turn said that Weidmann had "fulfilled his position as Bundesbank President" in an exemplary manner. "He is a very good economist and a bright head who brought the German perspective into the discussion and thus made a significant contribution to the success of European monetary policy," said Fratzscher. As President of the Bundesbank, he always insisted on the independence of the ECB - and was an important voice in the Governing Council.
Weidmann is likely to attend the ECB Council meeting on December 14th.
The future of the particularly flexible and billion-dollar purchase program for securities (Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program PEPP) in the corona crisis, which will run until the end of March 2022, should be decided.
apr / dpa / Reuters
