SPAIN'S economy minister Luis de Guindos has been put forward for the job of deputy chairman of the Central European Bank (BCE) to replace Portugal's Vítor Constáncio whose turn in the role ends on May 31.
But De Guindos, 58, will not resign yet from his post in the Spanish government until he knows the results of the bank's decision on March 23.
He only has one rival for the job – governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Philip Lane.
Both will have to go through a serious of closed-door interviews next Wednesday, February 14 in the Commission for Economy in European Parliament, then the 'winner' will be informally chosen five days later and confirmed on Tuesday, February 20.
The decision will not be formally set in stone until the Summit of March 22 and 23.
Mariano Rajoy's government recommended De Guindos for the job, and he is in with a good chance – he needs to have the approval of at least 14 of the European Union's 28 member States representing at least 65% of the EU population, which looks likely and, as Rajoy's cabinet recalls, the bloc has a 'representation debt' with Spain.
Ever since the Spanish deputy chair of the European Commission left, Spain has had no positions of reponsibility or leadership within the EU, despite being the fourth-largest economy in the Eurozone.
De Guindos had tried for EU president in 2015, without success, and attempts by Belén Romana and Antonio Sáinz de Vicuña to get the jobs of MEDE Director-General and on the BCE Council failed in 2012.
“Spain's going to win this,” said a supremely-confident Luis de Guindos, who is already backed by France and Germany.
“Both president Rajoy and I have gained sufficient support to achieve a qualified majority and there's a very real possibility of Spain's candidature being successful.”
He could face dissent in European Parliament, given that he is a minister, meaning he is not politically neutral, has no background in monetary policy or in the BCE Council, and is a man in a bloc where women remain under-represented in key roles.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com