Interview with Yomiuri Shimbun

Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, discussed her experiences as the first female leader of the ECB, highlighting the persistent gender imbalance in leadership roles. She noted that only two women currently serve on the 27-member Governing Council, attributing the underrepresentation to historical pipeline gaps and unconscious bias in appointments by male-dominated governments. Lagarde emphasized that institutional strength and governance should ultimately override such challenges.

Lagarde addressed the ECB’s inflation outlook, citing October headline inflation at 4%, driven largely by energy inflation of 20.8% due to geopolitical tensions and reduced refinery capacity. While core inflation remained stable at 2.5%, she warned that prolonged high inflation increases risks to the ECB’s medium-term target, with uncertainty persisting in the quarters ahead.

She acknowledged the ECB’s delayed response to the 2021 energy shock and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, admitting that initial assumptions of a transitory supply shock were misguided. Lagarde explained that simultaneous demand shocks from economic reopening and consumer spending contributed to the policy misstep, prompting a reassessment of inflation dynamics.

Lagarde underscored the heightened unpredictability in the global economic landscape, including trade disruptions and supply chain fragilities. She affirmed the ECB’s data-dependent approach to monetary policy, stating that future decisions will be made meeting by meeting, with no preemptive commitments on rate hikes despite current inflation pressures.