Three Top ECB Positions Will Soon Become Vacant, Intensifying Competition for Succession

ECB Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel will leave her post early, likely intensifying competition for top positions including a successor to President Christine Lagarde. German national Schnabel announced Thursday that she will leave the ECB's Executive Board in January, a year before her term was due to end. That means a vacancy will open up in the ECB's top decision-making body in just over three months. Chief Economist Philip Lane and Lagarde will also see their terms expire in 2027, and Lagarde has hinted she may leave early, making a package deal among countries over multiple posts increasingly likely. There are three more EU leaders' meetings this year that could serve as occasions for political consultations. Berenberg chief economist Holger Schmieding said there is indeed time pressure now and all parties need to come up with a solution. The timing of the personnel consultations, however, is not ideal. Germany's government has been plunged into crisis after a series of setbacks in state elections, France faces a political deadlock ahead of snap elections, and Italy and Spain will also hold national elections in due course. That raises the risk of a stalemate over the ECB's personnel arrangements.