WEF plans to appoint Lagarde as chairman! ECB President may be replaced early, and the successor candidate is attracting attention

"Reuters" reported that the World Economic Forum (WEF) may appoint Christine Lagarde as its next president as soon as November, which means that Lagarde will step down as president of the European Central Bank (ECB) early and trigger changes in the ECB's top personnel.

According to people familiar with the matter, the Geneva-based WEF board of directors will hold a meeting on November 2, at which time Lagarde may be selected as the next chairman. Although a final decision has not yet been made, Lagarde, 70, a former French Finance Minister, has received broad support from the board of directors. The European Central Bank declined to comment, and the WEF did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lagarde's term as president of the European Central Bank is originally scheduled to end in October 2027. If she leaves office early, EU leaders will have the opportunity to select a new ECB president before French President Macron steps down and the spring presidential election, avoiding the variables that a far-right victory will bring to negotiations on the successor.

Lagarde's desire to give Macron a say in her successor was one of the reasons for Lagarde's appointment as WEF chairman, people familiar with the matter said. European politicians worry that if French far-right leader Marine Le Pen wins the presidential election, negotiations over who will succeed Christine Lagarde may become more complicated.

Lagarde, who is attending the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Bangkok this week, said she will continue to serve as president of the European Central Bank until 2027, but did not commit to staying until the end of her term in October.

In addition, ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel resigned in September, and chief economist Philip Lane is also expected to step down in May 2027. If Lagarde leaves office early, EU member states may wrap up negotiations on these three high-level personnel appointments. Currently, former Dutch and Spanish central bank presidents Klaas Knot and Pablo Hernandez de Cos are regarded as popular candidates to take over as president of the European Central Bank.