‘We’ll give you Greenspan.’

Should an American lead the European Central Bank? That’s what Sylvain Broyer proposes in the German newspaper Die Zeit. The original’s in German, but I’ve translated a portion: I believe that the best candidate to follow Jean-Claude Trichet would be an American. It’s no doubt true that we have talented minds in Europe that have ...

By , a deputy editor at Foreign Policy.
557792_110215_Trichet2.jpg
557792_110215_Trichet2.jpg
FRANKFURT, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 14: Jean-Claude Trichet (R), President of the European Central Bank (ECB) and Ben Bernanke (L), Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System, talk together at a panel discussion at the Fifth ECB Central Banking Conference on November 14, 2008 in Frankfurt. The panel discussed international interdependencies and monetary policy on police maker's view. (Photo by Mario Vedder/Getty Images)

Should an American lead the European Central Bank? That’s what Sylvain Broyer proposes in the German newspaper Die Zeit. The original’s in German, but I’ve translated a portion:

I believe that the best candidate to follow Jean-Claude Trichet would be an American. It’s no doubt true that we have talented minds in Europe that have the necessary competence. But the challenges that await the future president of the European Central Bank demand a fundamental change in how we think about the essence of the monetary union…

The next ECB-President has to show the willingness to act as a lender of last resort for overly indebted member states…That recognition of the essence of a monetary union is rare in today’s Europe, but belongs to the mainstream on the other side of the Atlantic.

Nice try, Sylvain. You might have a point about the ECB’s philosophic mismatch for the current moment — but in case you haven’t noticed, we’ve got plenty of trouble trying to filling out the ranks of our own monetary institutions, what with the Senate filibuster holding things up. I know our out-of-work central bankers look like they’re just standing around, but they’re actually all under serious consideration for the three vacancies on at the Federal Reserve. (Except for Greenspan — you can have Greenspan.)

On the other hand, if Europe started picking off our top monetary candidates, maybe Fed appointments would become a more salient — because more patriotic! — issue?

Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.