ZCZC
BCN-43
ECB-EU-EUROZONE-AUSTRIA
Austria appoints far-right central banker to ECB post
VIENNA, Jan 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – The Austrian government on Wednesday named
an official affiliated to the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe) as the new head
of its national central bank, a position that automatically carries with it a
seat at the European Central Bank.
The government appointed Robert Holzmann as governor of the OeNB, making
him the first far-right official from a member state to sit on the ECB’s
policy-setting governing council, the body in charge of setting interest
rates for the 19-country eurozone.
The 69-year-old economist has close links to the FPOe, the junior partner
in a power-sharing coalition with the centre-right Austrian People’s Party
(OeVP) of Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
Holzmann has previously worked for the Organisation for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, for the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and for the World Bank, where he held two different directorial
posts between 1997 and 2011.
Despite his long association with the FPOe, Holzmann “is not a member of
our party and was chosen for his competence,” vice chancellor Heinz-Christian
Strache told a news briefing.
The FPOe is traditionally a eurosceptic party and previously campaigned for
a referendum on Austria’s EU membership, before dropping that promise as part
of the coalition agreement with the OeVP.
Close to the FPOe’s so-called “liberal” wing, Holzmann is regarded as
taking an orthodox approach to the ECB’s monetary policy.
But Austrian media were quick to point out that the economist, a specialist
on pension issues, has little central banking experience.
Holzmann takes over as OeNB chief from Ewald Nowotny, whose second five-
year term expires at the end of August and who was close to the centre-left
Social Democrats.
BSS/AFP/SR/1950 HRS