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Politico (18 November 2025)

 Johanna Treeck

The starter’s gun is about to fire on the race to succeed Christine Lagarde as European Central Bank president in 2027, and two heavyweight countries who have never held the position look likely to make the running: Spain and Germany.

Madrid has been conspicuously silent on nominating a replacement for its current representative on the board, Luis de Guindos, who is preparing to leave the vice presidency in June. That has fueled speculation in markets and policy circles that the eurozone’s fourth-largest member is eyeing a bigger prize.

The ECB is set for a major leadership reshuffle over the next two years, creating a rare opportunity for national governments to install trusted figures at the top of one of the EU’s most powerful institutions.

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