Reports on Wednesday indicated Christine Lagarde could step down as ECB President before her mandate expires in October 2027. The ECB asserted that no decision has been made and that the President is focused on her mission, in a response to Euronews.
After reports on Wednesday that Christine Lagarde is poised to step down as president of the European Central Bank ahead of schedule, an ECB spokesperson told Euronews the claims are untrue.
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No decision has been made and Lagarde will remain focused on her mission, the spokesperson added.
ECB's reaction to the reports is less explicit in its denial of the French chief's possible early exit than last year when similar claims emerged, and the central bank stated that Lagarde was "fully determined to complete her term".
The potential decision, first reported by the Financial Times citing a source familiar with the matter, could be driven by political timing.
Reports claim that Lagarde intends to vacate her Frankfurt seat before the French elections in April 2027, months before the official expiry of her eight-year mandate in October of that year.
By stepping aside early, Lagarde would allow outgoing French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to oversee the appointment of her successor, giving the current leadership of Europe's top two economies the chance to shape the future of European monetary policy.
With Macron constitutionally barred from running for a third term, fears are mounting in Brussels and Paris regarding the rise of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) and the Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Marine Le Pen and her protégé Jordan Bardella are currently polling strongly, raising the prospect of a Eurosceptic administration taking power in Paris. This scenario could potentially paralyze the appointment process for key EU institutions.
Last week, the Governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, also unexpectedly announced his early resignation, reportedly for similar reasons.
In a statement early Wednesday, the French central bank chief commented on the reports.
"I read a rumour about Lagarde, I discovered it, it doesn’t seem [like] information to me, I’ll leave it to the ECB to comment," Villeroy de Galhau said at a parliamentary committee.
The race for Frankfurt
Speculation over Lagarde's replacement is likely to heat up among European economists.
Current sentiment, as gauged by an FT poll in December, suggests that Klaas Knot, the former Dutch central bank chief, and Pablo Hernández de Cos, the former Governor of the Bank of Spain, are the most probable successors to Christine Lagarde.
Knot is increasingly viewed as the "Goldilocks" candidate: a seasoned veteran who has transitioned from a strict inflation hawk to a more moderate, consensus-building figure.
He is particularly attractive to Berlin, as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz may prefer backing a like-minded Dutchman over the political complexity of appointing a German.
Meanwhile, de Cos, who currently leads the Bank for International Settlements, remains a top-tier contender due to his reputation as a "fantastic team player" and his deep technical expertise.
