Spanish stability?

Will a Spanish economist get a top job?

The Spanish economy is in difficulty, but that has not stopped the Spanish government from manoeuvring for a senior European post managing the European economy.

Belén Romana, a Spanish economist, is a candidate to head the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the eurozone’s permanent bail-out fund that will be launched in July with a capacity of €500 billion.

Klaus Regling, a German who was once the European Commission’s director-general for economic and financial affairs, is currently heading the temporary rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility. But his chances of taking over at the ESM would be reduced if his compatriot, Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, were appointed to chair the Eurogroup, the meetings of  eurozone finance ministers.

If that happens, and if Antonio Sáinz de Vicuña, Spain’s candidate for a seat on the executive board of the European Central Bank, is denied a seat, then
Romana’s chances of being appointed would improve. She is a former member of the governing boards of Spain’s central bank and stock  exchange, and is currently director of corporate strategy at Spain’s second-largest telecommunications company, ONO.

Surely the greatest reason for appointing her would be so that, in the light of the demise of the Stability and Growth Pact, and the creation of a fiscal compact treaty, Entre Nous could ask: “What’s your view on pacts, Romana?”