No Doves Cry as Weidmann Flies the Central Bank Coop
The once fearsome hawk has resigned as head of Germany’s Bundesbank. It is a signal that another species rules the roost now.
Weidmann with Lagarde in 2016, before she became head of the ECB
Photographer: DANIEL ROLAND/AFPAfter a decade at the helm of the German Bundesbank, Jens Weidmann surprised everyone with his resignation on Wednesday. Being in charge of the most important national central bank in the European Union is no longer quite what it was. He follows in a long line of Bundesbankers who quit in frustration before their term ended.
The message is crystal clear: the European Central Bank reigns supreme over its subordinate national central bank members. Even the once-mighty Bundesbank with its reputation as the euro area's most outspoken hawk is no match for the ECB's unremittingly dovish tack. Resistance has become increasingly futile.