{"text":[[{"start":7.68,"text":"Christine Lagarde is to step down as European Central Bank president in February, nine months early, setting up a leadership contest just as the central bank faces resurgent inflation."}],[{"start":18.72,"text":"Her departure ahead of the planned end of her eight-year term in October 2027 follows months of speculation about an early exit."}],[{"start":26.56,"text":"Lagarde’s tenure has been shaped by the worst pandemic in a century, the bloodiest war in Europe since 1945, the biggest inflation shock in a generation and a trade war with the US."}],[{"start":37.88,"text":"Earlier this year, Lagarde, 70, admitted that she had believed she would serve in Frankfurt for only five years rather than eight when she agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron to do the job."}],[{"start":49.16,"text":"Lagarde, who will step down on February 7, after the first ECB governing council meeting of the new year, has been in talks to chair the World Economic Forum. In a statement on Thursday, the ECB said Lagarde’s successor would be appointed by the European Council."}],[{"start":64.68,"text":"The Dutch government is backing former Dutch central bank governor Klaas Knot to be Lagarde’s successor, while Spain is supporting Pablo Hernández de Cos, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements and former governor of the Bank of Spain."}],[{"start":78.28,"text":"The race to succeed Lagarde will also unfold as investor concern grows over the increasing strains on France’s public finances ahead of the country’s presidential elections in April. Last week, the country’s long-term borrowing costs hit 5 per cent for the first time since 2002."}],[{"start":95.24,"text":"Lagarde on Thursday told the 25 other members of the governing council that she wanted to leave early to have “greater freedom to express her views” as she could not “remain neutral” over the developments in France."}],[{"start":105.98,"text":"In July, she told Les Echos “that a European voice needs to be heard in the French presidential debate”, but added she would not run herself."}],[{"start":114.4,"text":"In a video published on her Instagram account, Lagarde said it had been “a huge privilege to serve this institution”."}],[{"start":120.88,"text":"The euro shrugged off the announcement, trading 0.1 per cent lower against the dollar at $1.114 ahead of the ECB’s announcement on interest rates later on Thursday."}],[{"start":131.04,"text":"Economists expect the ECB to hold rates at 2.5 per cent as officials weigh the impact of higher energy prices and recent turmoil in the bond market."}],[{"start":140.72,"text":"Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, said that Lagarde’s departure “does not change the outlook for ECB policies and for the way the ECB deals with French risks”."}],[{"start":151.26,"text":"Her exit comes as ECB executive board member Isabel Schnabel will leave her role one year early in January to take a senior position at the IMF. ECB chief economist Philip Lane’s term will expire in May."}],[{"start":164.84,"text":"She is the second president in the 28-year history of the ECB to resign early. Its first head, Wim Duisenberg, left after five years."}],[{"start":173.52,"text":"Additional reporting by Emily Herbert in London"}],[{"start":181.36,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793273656_5080.mp3"}