Criticism of my leadership is ‘irrelevant’, says Lagarde
CHRISTINE LAGARDE has said criticism of her leadership is “irrelevant”, as she hit back at claims she is a poor central banker.
The president of the European Central Bank made the comments after she was found to have performed “poorly” or “very poorly” by 50.6pc of staff in an internal survey, with concerns raised over how she uses the role to boost her political agenda. However, when asked about the survey yesterday, Ms Lagarde rejected talk of widespread unhappiness. “As far as I am concerned, I am irrelevant,” she said at an ECB press conference. “As long as I deliver on leading this institution of talented people – not just economists – who are driven to do their job and to deliver. The rest, me as a person: irrelevant.”
She listed other internal surveys, which show that 80pc of those who responded said they were happy, adding that more than three quarters said they would recommend the ECB as a workplace to a friend. Ms Lagarde added: “I am extremely proud of the staff of the ECB, and I am very proud and honoured to lead the institution, because we are driven by a mission, delivering price stability, but serving the Europeans.”
Her comments came as the ECB’S governing council voted to keep interest rates on hold, including the deposit rate – at a record 4pc high.
Ms Lagarde said it is still too “premature to discuss rate cuts”, even despite markets betting that inflation will fall. She also acknowledged that the eurozone economy is likely to have stagnated in the final quarter of 2023.
But she added that “some forward-looking survey indicators point to a pick-up in growth further ahead”.
Separately, fresh data showed the US economy grew more quickly than expected in the final three months of 2023, expanding at an annualised pace of 3.3pc as households kept spending.
While growth decelerated from 4.9pc in the third quarter, the healthy expansion suggests the US economy is withstanding higher interest rates.