<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, declared this Wednesday, January 7, that the former Governor of the Bank of Spain, Pablo Hernández de Cos, is an "excellent professional with a more than proven international career," but did not clarify whether the Spanish government will support his candidacy to head the European Central Bank (ECB).</strong></h4> "Spain will push to maintain significant representation, as is our due, both in terms of shareholding and the importance of the Spanish economy in the eurozone, and, in this case, we will make a decision regarding both the position and the candidates in due course," Cuerpo stated at the press conference following the first Council of Ministers meeting of 2026. "Spain will not lack excellent candidates" to lead or participate in the upper echelons of multilateral organizations because "it is a superb source of talent for international positions in economic matters." Furthermore, Hernández de Cos is an “excellent professional with a proven international career” and enjoys “the recognition of his peers,” the minister explained. However, Cuerpo assured that the process is “in its initial stages” and that Spain will make a decision on Hernández de Cos’s potential candidacy when several positions at the ECB are up for renewal, including the posts of president, vice president (currently held by Spaniard Luis de Guindos, whose term ends this spring), and chief economist. He also reiterated the ECB Governing Council’s tendency to “maintain a balance” among nationalities, political affiliations, and genders, adding that Spain’s support for one candidate or another will be decided “generally” with the aim of maintaining “significant representation.” Hernández de Cos, governor of the Bank of Spain from 2018 to 2024 and current director general of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), is the frontrunner to succeed Christine Lagarde as president of the ECB in 2027, according to a survey of economists published Tuesday by the Financial Times. His main rival is Klaas Knot, former governor of the Dutch central bank. Other leading candidates include Bundesbank president Joachim Nagel and Isabel Schnabel, a member of the ECB Governing Council. The European Council is responsible for electing the ECB president, after consulting the European Parliament and the ECB Governing Council.
