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ECB staff criticise Lagarde’s leadership in union survey

Staff assail bank’s president for not focusing on monetary policy

Some staff accused Christine Lagarde of focusing on issues related to politics. Photograph: AFP via Getty Images

Mon Jan 22 2024 - 17:21

Christine Lagarde’s performance as European Central Bank (ECB) chief has been criticised in a staff union survey marking the halfway point of her eight-year term.

A slight majority of respondents in the December poll assessed her presidency as either “poor” or “very poor,” the International and European Public Services union (IPSO) said in a document summarising the findings. More than 53 per cent also said Lagarde was not currently the right person for the job. The survey was first reported by Politico.

IPSO said the results are significantly worse than those for her predecessors, Mario Draghi and Jean-Claude Trichet. Both were subject to similar union polls at the end of their terms and were generally judged favourably.

“The survey reveals a widespread dissatisfaction of respondents regarding internal matters, including diversity policies,” the document says. Many criticised Lagarde for spending “too much time on topics unrelated to monetary policy and going too frequently in the political domain”.

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The poll features the views of 1,159 people – less than a quarter of the more than 5,000 employees and trainees working at the ECB – according to its latest annual report. The central bank called the survey “flawed”.

“It includes topics for which the executive board or governing council, rather than solely the president, is responsible and that are not within IPSO’s remit,” a spokesperson said.

“The ECB gets staff feedback through regular surveys which are done in line with professional standards, and they will continue.”

The spokesperson also said the IPSO poll “seems that it could be filled in multiple times by the same person” – something the union conceded was possible, while expressing confidence in the overall results.

Staff polls typically draw about 3,000 responses, the ECB spokesperson said, with the last – from 2023 – showing 80 per cent are proud to work at the ECB and 81 per cent feel personally connected.

Relations between the ECB’s leadership and its staff have already been tested by surging inflation that prompted labour representatives to complain in recent years about what they deemed insufficient pay increases.

In 2024, salaries will rise by 4.7 per cent after a boost of just more than 4 per cent in 2023. A previous IPSO survey revealed that trust in Lagarde and the rest of the six-person executive board had been damaged.

An IPSO summary of the 375 qualitative comments in the latest round showed concerns centred on Lagarde’s leadership style, which many perceived as “autocratic.” Some expressed concern that the president was trying to “further her own private interests, possibly to prepare her next move”.

By contrast, “some respondents made a positive assessment of Christine Lagarde,” the document says. “She inspires them as a leader, they are proud to work with her.” – Bloomberg

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