Bundesbank chief warns over far-right rise; ECB president rejects French debt write-off proposal
MacroGeopoliticsDigital Finance
Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel, a member of the European Central Bank's Governing Council, expressed concern on the 10th about the rise of far-right parties in Europe. Speaking at the ECB's regular post-meeting press conference, Nagel said of the far-right surge, "What does it mean for our country, our society, and our shared values?" He noted that some far-right ideas are "self-destructive in economic terms," and voiced concern that foreign investors might shy away from investing in Germany. In Germany, the right-wing party Alternative for Germany, known as AfD, which campaigns against immigration among other issues, won the state parliamentary election held on the 6th in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, bringing a far-right party closer than at any time since World War II to taking power at the state level. In Europe, France is also approaching a presidential election, and in a runoff vote the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon are increasingly likely to face off. At the same day's press conference, ECB President Christine Lagarde said that Melenchon's proposal to write off part of France's debt is "financially dangerous" and legally impossible under European Union law, adding that debt cancellation "might be popular in any eurozone member state, but it is not a good idea at all and a huge waste of time." Melenchon has proposed writing off 18 percent of the government bonds held by the Bank of France, and the country's public debt exceeds 116 percent of gross domestic product.
