Arch globalist Christine Lagarde is reportedly planning to leave her post at the helm of the European Central Bank before the end of her term next year in a bid to lock in liberal leadership long after French President Emmanuel Macron leaves office.
The anti-Trump former French finance minister has served as president of the European Central Bank since 2019. While her eight-year term is set to expire in October next year, the Financial Times, citing a “person familiar with her thinking”, reported that Lagarde is considering stepping down before then to allow French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to select her successor.
Should Lagarde remain in her post until the end of her term, the decision would be heavily influenced by Macron’s successor, who will take office after next April’s French presidential election, which Macron is barred from participating in due to term limits.
At present, polling indicates that the National Rally is likely to take power next year, with both Marine Le Pen and her deputy, Jordan Bardella, topping the opinion rankings of contenders. However, Paris and Brussels appear intent on preventing the populist party from making meaningful changes by installing loyalist globalists in key positions of power prior to next year’s election.
Who controls the ECB will likely play a critical role in the economic plans of the National Rally, with Mr Bardella openly expressing interest in the central bank purchasing French debt, which would alleviate the budget crunch in Paris and allow for tax cuts to spur economic growth without making politically painful cuts to social safety net spending.
However, Macron, a former Rothschild banker who oversaw the ballooning of French debt to over 100 per cent of GDP, largely as a result of his coronavirus lockdown spending spree, appears intent on hemming in his successor. Indeed, the early resignation of French central bank governor François Villeroy de Galhau is widely believed to be a result of pressure from Macron, allowing him to lock up the position for the next six years.
According to POLITICO, plans to “Le Pen-proof” the election also include efforts to appoint loyalists at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including over 60 ambassadorial posts, including key positions in London, Berlin, and Washington. “Everything will be sewn up before the presidential election in May 2027,” a French ambassador told the outlet.
So far, Lagarde has refused to comment publicly on her reported plans to step down, while an ECB spokesman said: “President Lagarde is totally focused on her mission and has not taken any decision regarding the end of her term.”
Regardless, her eventual departure will likely leave a major hole in the globalist power structure in Europe. Lagarde came to power in 2019, alongside Ursula von der Leyen as EU Commission chief, following a backroom deal struck between then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Macron, despite both having been widely considered political failures before their ascent to the senior posts in Brussels.
Indeed, then-International Monetary Fund chief Lagarde was found guilty in 2016 by a French court of criminal negligence for the misappropriation of government funds during a 2008 state handout of €403 million ($425 million) to businessman Bernard Tapie, when she was serving as French finance minister.
During her tenure at the helm of the ECB, Lagarde has been a major proponent of mass migration into Europe, arguing that the constant influx of cheap foreign labour is necessary to prop up European economies and prevent inflation from rising further. This comes despite persistent double-digit youth unemployment across Europe during her time in office.
Lagarde was also a chief opponent of Brexit in Europe, making a controversial intervention just days before the 2016 referendum in Britain to imply that those in favour of leaving the European Union were narrow-minded and that the UK would miss out on the economic benefits seen in countries like Germany and Sweden after the “opened their hearts” to mass migration. This view has largely been debunked, with the British government finding last year that low-skilled migrants cost the taxpayer some £500,000 if they lived to the age of 80.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here