Merz to Meet ECB Frontrunners de Cos and Knot as Lagarde Succession Race Heats Up

Investing.com·3 Oct 2026·

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Summary · why it matters

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to meet the two frontrunners to succeed European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, as discussions over the central bank's future leadership accelerate. Spain's Pablo Hernández de Cos and the Netherlands' Klaas Knot will each meet Merz to discuss their candidacies, with Knot's meeting expected in the coming days and de Cos set to meet the German leader within the next few weeks. The meetings point to growing activity behind the scenes as European leaders consider several impending vacancies at the ECB: Lagarde said this week she would not rule out leaving a few months before her term expires in October 2027, Executive Board member Isabel Schnabel is due to depart in early January, and Chief Economist Philip Lane's term ends in May. Germany's position is regarded as important in negotiations, and the planned meetings indicate Berlin is no longer considering Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel for the ECB presidency. De Cos, a former Bank of Spain governor, is currently general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, while Knot previously headed the Dutch central bank; both received public backing from their respective national leaders last week.