Nomination in time of crisis

The members of Eurogroup have chosen Portugal's Vitor Constancio to be the next vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB). "The current governor of the Banco de Portugal (the Portuguese central bank) was chosen from a list of candidates which included his opposite numbers in Luxembourg (Yves Mersch) and Belgium (Peter Praet). Constancio will replace the present Greek vice-president of the ECB, Lucas Papademos, when his mandate comes to an end in May," reports La Tribune. The Parisian business daily adds that the appointment "will likely pave the way for Germany's Bundesbank president, Axel Weber, to take over at the head of the ECB," when France's Jean-Claude Trichet "retires in 2011." Although some of Europe's finance ministers have insisted that the selection process for the vice-president of the ECB is completely independent, La Tribune explains that "traditionally the top jobs at the bank have reflected the desire to preserve a North-South balance." The daily believes that "the current economic crisis in Greece, Portugal and Spain must have weighed heavily on the eurozone finance ministers' decision."