Posted on 20 Dec. 2021 at 14:34Updated 20 Dec. 2021 at 16:52
Change everything so that nothing changes. It was via Twitter on Monday that the new German Minister of Finance, Christian Lindner, announced the appointment of Joachim Nagel as President of the Bundesbank. “Given the risks of inflation, the importance of a stability-oriented monetary policy is increasing. He is an experienced personality who ensures continuity, ”he commented. The government is yet to formally confirm the proposed decision on Wednesday by mutual agreement with Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
The 55-year-old economist will therefore replace, from January 1, Jens Weidmann, who had created the surprise by announcing his resignation for “personal reasons” last October. If he is a member of the SPD like Olaf Scholz, Joachim Nagel should indeed ensure “continuity” with his predecessor known for his opposition to the ECB’s policy which he considered too lax. Member of the Bundesbank’s crisis unit during the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009, Joachim Nagel is one of those who already called for quickly finding scenarios for exiting the monetary policy and buying bonds led by the ECB.
Inflation at 5%
Jens Weidmann set his successor’s back-to-school agenda by recently calling for “vigilance” in the face of inflation which in November passed the 5% mark in Germany. Man of the seraglio, the new president of the Bundesbank should be operational quickly. “He will be accepted internally at the Bundesbank because he spent seventeen years there, and he will be loyal to the government because he also has his SPD card”, sums up Gunther Schnabl, of the Study Institute. economy of Leipzig.
For the future, the future president of the Bundesbank should also have assets in his game to support European and German ambitions in digital currencies. Passed successively by the Bundesbank, the public investment bank Kfw and the Bank for international settlements (BIS), the economist was also responsible for markets and information technologies within the executive board of the central bank.