German Chancellor Olaf Scholz threw his support behind Spain’s acting Economy Minister Nadia Calvino in her bid to become the first female president of the European Investment Bank, the world’s biggest multilateral lender.
With Germany, one of the European Union’s political and economic heavyweights, publicly supporting Calvino for the top job, the spotlight now moves to France to take a position.
“I think she will be a very good president of the EIB,” Scholz said of Calvino Saturday at a congress of the Party of European Socialists and Social Democrats in Malaga.
Scholz cited his close cooperation with Calvino when both worked on international and European fiscal projects such as the introduction of a global corporate minimum tax.
Read more: Germany Seen Backing Calvino as EIB Head, Waiting for France Nod
The effort to find a new EIB boss has been going on for months. While Calvino is considered the favorite, Margrethe Vestager of Denmark is another front-runner, and Daniele Franco of Italy, Teresa Czerwinska of Poland and Thomas Ostros of Sweden are also in the running. The position becomes available as of January.
Belgian Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem said in October that the views of the biggest EU member states will be key in determining who gets the job. France may leverage its status to get concessions on other areas or to secure promises of backing for future top jobs.
European finance ministers are expected to discuss the EIB position at a meeting in early December.
To become head of the EIB, a candidate requires the support of 18 member states, representing at least 68% of the share capital. The EIB is currently led by Werner Hoyer, a member of Germany’s pro-business Liberal Democratic Party (FDP).
