De Guindos wants to become the new Eurogroup chief

The Spanish Economy Minister Luis De Guindos – who calls himself ‘Mariano Rajoy’s Economy Minister – would like to succeed Jeroen Dijsselbloem after the end of his mandate as Eurogroup Chief. Dijsselbloem is to stay until the summer of 2015, and then it will be necessary to appoint a new chief. De Guindos is taking Spain out of the problems that have gripped the banking system – if he succeeds, he would get both consideration and credibility. He is to meet Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, and the German Economy Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who was said to be Jean Claude Juncker’s successor at the time. Then came Dijsselbloem, whose appointment was approved by both ‘south-side’ Member States, which opposed the austerity method imposed by Berlin, and ‘north-side’ Member States, which saw Dijsselbloem as a positive name because of the ‘integrity’ of Holland. At the time, Spain was the only Member State not to vote in favour of Dijsselbloem as Eurogroup chief.

During an inconclusive Eurogroup meeting, the only fact to be reported is hence De Guindos’ candidacy for the post. He did not make an official speech, but rumours at the Justus Lipsius Building have started to spread. Yet, Dijsselbloem has released an ‘interesting’ statement at the end of the meeting. “I know my post isn’t permanent,” said Dijsselbloem. “I am in office until the summer of 2015. If anything changes I would like to be the first to know about it.”