The Italian government has no candidate to put forward for the position of European Central Bank (ECB) president and is seeking to clarify whether Christine Lagarde will end her term early, a government minister has said.

In a media briefing on the Italian government’s new budget, as reported by Reuters, Giorgetti said: “I can't get inside President Lagarde's head, but I do think it's important to clarify this matter.”

Giorgetti added that the Italian government has no one in mind for the position. Lagarde’s predecessor was Mario Draghi, who had previously been the governor of the Bank of Italy. Fabio Panetta, the current governor, is not considered a likely ECB candidate.

Italy is under no obligation to put forward its own presidential candidate, but will have to publicly support someone to succeed Lagarde once she has left the role.

Though Lagarde’s tenure as president of the ECB officially ends in October 2027, she has repeatedly hinted that she could step down sooner to contribute to the French presidential election in due to be held on 2 May 2027.

If she went ahead with an early departure, several key candidates could become ECB president.

Klaas Knot, who served as president of the Netherlands’s central bank from 2011 to 2025, has received public support from the Dutch government over his potential election.

He is understood to hold similar policy views to those of Lagarde, having opposed her predecessor Mario Draghi’s stimulus programmes, and in 2019 an MEP told Politico that Knot is a “super hawk”.

In September, Reuters reported that France would back Knot as the new ECB president, provided a French candidate was elected as the ECB’s chief economist.

Otmar Issing, who was ECB chief economist between 1998 and 2006, separately told Politico that such lobbying is “not acceptable”.

In today’s report, Reuters added that Spain has begun lobbying for Pablo Hernandez de Cos, the general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, to become president.

The newswire cited an unnamed Italian official who said that Italy could support de Cos in a potential presidential bid, in return for the support Spain gave Italy in voting Carlo Comporti in as the new president of the European Securities and Markets Authority.

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