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Buba mulls leadership
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November 5, 1998: 5:58 a.m. ET
Interest rates top the agenda, but the leadership race is on says report
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LONDON (CNNfn) - The Bundesbank Council meets Thursday to discuss Germany's interest rates, but the debate will apparently include a battle for leadership of the bank as well.
The current president of the bank, hardliner Hans Tietmeyer, retires next August. Thursday's Financial Times reports that jockeying for position to be the next leader has begun already.
Existing council member Hans Welteke was seen as Tietmeyer's heir apparent, but the paper reports that new finance minister Oskar Lafontaine has plans to install his own man.
Lafontaine has already caused a stir by deciding to attend Thursday's meeting. The Bundesbank says there is a standing invitation for finance ministers to attend its meetings, although they rarely do and cannot vote on interest rate decisions.
Several European politicians have pushed for independent central bankers to abandon their hardline policies in recent weeks. Lafontaine will press council members to ease rates, according to the Financial Times.
The government puts forward candidates for the role of Bundesbank president, but council members have the final say themselves through a secret ballot.
The Bundesbank's importance will be diluted once the European Central Bank (ECB) assumes responsibility for setting interest rates following the introduction of European Monetary Union in January. The president of the Bundesbank automatically becomes a member of the ECB's governing elite.
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Bundesbank
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