Christine Lagarde faces allegations of leveraging her role at the European Central Bank for personal political gains, according to a staff backlash reported by Politico.
Following her return from the World Economic Forum in Davos, the ECB president received critical feedback in a trade union survey. Over half of the participants, amounting to more than 1,100 of the ECB’s approximately 4,500 employees, rated her performance in the first four years of her tenure as either “very poor” or “poor”.
The survey responses indicated significant dissatisfaction among staff, with many expressing concern over her excessive involvement in politics and perceived use of the ECB to further her objectives.
This controversy emerges as the eurozone faces challenges with record-high interest rates, and the ECB is anticipated to maintain its key deposit rate at 4% in its upcoming Thursday meeting.
Ms Lagarde’s performance as the head of the European Central Bank has been rated significantly lower than her predecessors, according to a survey conducted by Ipso.
In comparison, Mario Draghi, the former Italian Prime Minister, received a “poor” or “very poor” rating from less than 10% of the staff. Draghi was praised as “good,” “very good,” or “outstanding” by 75.5% of the respondents. One employee commented, “Mario Draghi was there for the ECB, whereas the ECB seems to be there for Christine Lagarde.”
An ECB spokesperson criticized the survey, pointing out its potential flaws, including its scope beyond Ms Lagarde’s direct responsibilities and the possibility of multiple responses from the same individual. The spokesperson emphasized, “The President and the board are fully committed to their mandate, having enacted policies in response to recent unprecedented events like the pandemic and wars.”
The survey also revealed that over half of the participants are worried about the ECB’s ability to quickly bring inflation back to its 2% target. The eurozone’s consumer prices index climbed to 2.9% in December.
Last week, Ms. Lagarde suggested that interest rates might have peaked, but cautioned that it was premature to declare victory over inflation, citing economic uncertainties and the potential effects of rising wages on inflation. She also countered market expectations of rate cuts as early as April, aligning with other ECB officials in indicating that any reduction in borrowing costs would likely occur in the summer, contingent on supportive economic data.
