Right man for the job
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Right man for the job

After the fun - the real challenge


Jean-Claude Trichet himself was taken by surprise, other central bankers say. When the French government nominated him as the first president of the European Central Bank last November, the governor of the Banque de France was immediately shielded by his good friends Hans Tietmeyer, Wim Duisenberg and the rest of the central banking fraternity.

Their public mateyness was no stunt. Fellow central bankers are evidently embarrassed for Trichet, since in their view his nomination was a back-handed compliment designed to humiliate the man whose monetary policy the French government has long resented.

The French central bank president of the Banque de France hadn't asked to be considered, nor could he regard it as an honour to be pitched directly against Duisenberg, the man sponsored by the Bundesbank and most of Europe's governments.

In their view, the real danger of the nomination was that its political nature, and the apparent attempt by France to topple the candidate already endorsed by most European governments, could sully Trichet and potentially the ECB in the eyes of the market.

There's no serious suggestion that a Trichet presidency would make the euro weaker, or that monetary policy with him in charge would be run differently than with Duisenberg - both have long since shadowed the Bundesbank's monetary policy in their home countries.


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