German support puts Greece in lead of race for ECB vice presidency

MUNICH (Reuters) – Greece’s campaign to win the vice presidency of the European Central Bank gathered speed yesterday with a ringing endorsement for their candidate from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Bank of Greece Governor Lucas Papademos was already the front runner to replace Christian Noyer, who steps down on May 31, and Schroeder’s emphatic declaration will not have hurt his chances of making the move to the ECB’s headquarters in Frankfurt. «I believe Greece has a top-level man who has superb qualifications,» Schroeder said at a news conference in Munich when asked about the ECB vice presidency. «In my view, the qualifications of the Greek candidate are beyond all doubt.» Some analysts wondered if Germany might not favor the candidacy because Greece only joined the eurozone two years ago – an impression which Berlin has now forcefully corrected. Schroeder stressed the call would be left to European finance ministers, who will try to clinch a decision at an April 12-14 meeting with central bank chiefs in Oviedo, Spain. But it is, at present, a two-horse race, with Belgian academic and politician Paul de Grauwe the only other candidate to have been put forward so far. Papademos, a clear favorite with central bankers, has been gathering growing support from politicians after Austria opted not to pitch for the job and Luxembourg and Ireland kept their powder dry, although this doesn’t not rule out a late entry. «Let’s say he has a good chance,» Italian Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti told journalists on Saturday, on the sidelines of a summit of European Union leaders in Barcelona. The vice president is one of six executive board members, who wield massive influence over the direction of monetary policy in the 12 nation common currency bloc by setting the agenda for the bank’s policy-setting meetings. These take place once a month when the executive board meets with the heads of the national central banks in Frankfurt. Spanish Economy Minister Rodrigo Rato, who will chair the meeting in Oviedo, has already praised Papademos as a «significant European,» and the EU’s Executive Commission also had warm words for him. «I think the Greek candidate is a very strong one – a man with good technical expertise, with a good economic background,» EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pedro Solbes said on Saturday in Barcelona.