Lagarde’s ECB nomination thrusts IMF into early succession race

(Washington) REUTERS: The nomination of Christine Lagarde as European Central Bank President on Tuesday has thrust the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into an early, unanticipated search for a new leader amid a raging trade war that has darkened the outlook for global growth.

Lagarde in a brief announcement said she was “honoured” by the nomination and would temporarily relinquish her duties as IMF Managing Director during the nomination period.
Her appointment is subject to approval by a fractious European Parliament. If approved, she would take over as ECB President from Mario Draghi on October 31.

Lagarde’s second five-year term as IMF Managing Director is not due to end until July 2021. Last September, when asked by the Financial Times whether she was interested in the ECB job, she replied, “No, no, no no,

no no.”In a statement, the IMF board said it accepted her decision to temporarily step aside and named IMF First Deputy Managing Director David Lipton as the fund’s acting chief, expressing its “full confidence” in the American economist. The board statement provided no details about the search for a successor to lead the IMF.