Alexander Weber y Mark Schroers
Hoy 17:57
The performance of Christine Lagarde at the head of the European Central Bank was criticized in a survey conducted by the staff union halfway through his eight-year term.
A slight majority of those consulted in the December survey evaluated his presidency as “poor” or “very poor,” The IPSO union reported in a document summarizing the results to which Bloomberg had access. More than 53% also said Lagarde was not currently the right person for the job. The poll was initially reported by Politico.
According to IPSO, the results are significantly worse than those of his predecessors, Mario Draghi and Jean-Claude Trichet. Both were subjected to similar union surveys at the end of their terms and were generally judged favorably.
Lagarde assured that the ECB will lower the interest rate when inflation is close to 2%
“The survey reveals a general dissatisfaction of respondents regarding internal affairs, including diversity policies,” according to the document. Many criticized Lagarde for spending “too much time on issues unrelated to monetary policy and entering the political arena too frequently.”
The survey collects the opinions of 1,159 people, less than a quarter evente of the more than 5,000 employees and trainees who work at the ECB, according to its latest annual report. The central bank called the survey “imperfect.”
“It includes issues for which the Executive Committee or the Governing Council is responsible, and not just the president, and which are not IPSO’s responsibility,” a spokesperson said. “The ECB receives the opinions of employees through periodic surveys that are done in accordance with professional standards, and will continue to be done.”
The spokesperson also maintained that the IPSO survey “appears to could be completed multiple times by the same person”, something the union admitted was possible, although it expressed confidence in the overall results.
Staff surveys typically get around 3,000 responses, the ECB spokesperson said, and the latest one, from 2023, shows that the 80% are proud to work at the ECB and 81% feel personally connected.
Tensions between the management of the ECB and its employees
The relationships between The ECB management and its staff have already been tested due to rising inflation, which led employee representatives to complain in recent years about what they considered insufficient wage increases.
In 2024, salaries will rise by 4.7%after an increase of just over 4% in 2023. An earlier IPSO survey revealed that trust in Lagarde and the rest of the six-person Executive Committee had been damaged.
An IPSO summary of the 375 qualitative comments from the latest round showed that concerns centered on Lagarde’s leadership style, which many perceived as “autocratic”. Some expressed concern that the president was trying to “promote their own private interests, possibly to prepare his next move.”
On the contrary, “some respondents gave a positive evaluation of Christine Lagarde”, According to the document. “She inspires them as a leader, they are proud to work with her.”