The Finnish pre-favourite was sidelined from the top spot of monetary power – Could he still become the head of the ECB?

CEO of the Bank of Finland Olli Rehn was the early favorite for the position of vice-president of the European Central Bank, but Croatia was appointed to the position Boris Vujcic.

The loss was a disappointment for Finland. Kauppalehti information according to, the background was, among other things, the cow shops of the big euro countries, for which they cheated future appointment or agency roulettes.

Politics affects the appointment processes in Brussels in different ways: the coordinators of the European Parliament had quite unexpectedly recommended central bankers from Latvia or Portugal as deputy governors, which Rehn himself had some serious things to say.

“The ranking (of candidates) made by the coordinators of the EU Parliament reflects political preferences, not an evaluation of the candidates’ professional qualifications or personal integrity. In the name of openness and transparency – the core values ​​of the Parliament – ​​I ask readers to evaluate my experience, my qualifications and my views on the role of the ECB’s deputy governor,” Rehn said in his press release in January.

Director general Christine Lagarden the season ends next year. When asked on Wednesday, Olli Rehn took a position on the selection process for Lagarde’s successor in this way:

“I hope that the best and most qualified will be chosen for that position. Is the decision-making in the hands of the European Council, i.e. the prime ministers, in the case of Germany the chancellor, in the case of France the president Macron’s and otherwise in the hands of prime ministers and governments. I have nothing more to comment on that, I trust and hope that the best and most qualified team player leading the line will be selected for that position,” Rehn said on Talousaaamu’s broadcast.

Although the big member countries are expected to play the role of the president-general as they wish, Rehn’s name occasionally appears in speculations in the role of a kind of dark horse and compromise candidate.

Are you available for the task?

“I haven’t thought about it in any way in that direction.”

The following names often appear in the media speculation of the CEO game: Holland Glass Knotof Spain Pablo Hernandez de Cosof Germany Isabel Schnabel mixed Joachim Nagel.

Will the policy rate rise? Watch the interview and the Talousamau broadcast in full here: