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Axel Weber, 53, the current president of the German central bank, and once the presumed top candidate to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet at the European Central Bank, unexpectedly renounced seeking the position, reportedly enraging Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Weber also announced that he would quit the Bundesbank at the end of April.
He cites"personal reason" for his sudden departure.
Weber was considered an inflation hard-liner and many outside Germany preferred a more moderate chief. He also reportedly alienated many ECB colleagues.
Weber was considered a trusted Merkel ally. But no more. The WSJ claims that with the Chancellor scorned, she has now frozen him out.
His likely departure is being met with relief “not among the Germans, but every country from Italy to Greece, probably,” said economist Marco Valli. “The French are not particularly sad.”
Speculation now centers on Mario Draghi, the governor of the Bank of Italy.
But the German newspaper BILD headlined:“Mama Mia! Please, not this Italian!” and wrote: “In Italy, inflation is as much a part of life as tomato sauce and pasta.”
