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Christine Lagarde: From crisis to crisis we become stronger

By Morgane Miel

Since November 1, 2019 – the date of her appointment as head of the European Central Bank (ECB) – Christine Lagarde has been shared between the 19 countries of the European Union that use the euro. This in itself makes it particularly expensive. Still, we managed to meet her in her office on the 40th floor of a building designed by Austrian architect Wolf Dieter Prix on the banks of the river Main in Frankfurt, where only security officials are allowed above the 37th floor. Two elevators and a hallway away, she is smiling and approachable, in her glass office overlooking the Ostend area. It is also her home during the week, while she tries to return as many weekends as possible to France, where her partner, businessman Xavier Giocanti, and her family live.

On her table, the book about Angela Merkel (Taschen Editions) by Herlinde Koelbl, who photographed the former chancellor during the thirty years from 1991 to 2021, bears witness to the bonds of friendship and admiration between the two women. By the way, Angela Merkel had supported Lagarde’s candidacy for the presidency of the ECB and she, for her part, never misses an opportunity to pay tribute to the German politician. A little further, on the shelves, a trophy from the Rallye des Gazelles (a rally race that takes place in desert parts of southern Morocco), of which she was a supporter in the past.

In this unprecedented summer, every week brings new intensities to its schedule. As this week, on July 18, just days before the ECB announces major measures to fight inflation, Italy is rocked by a political crisis, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi, former ECB president, resigning on July 21 and elections for the new government to be appointed by the end of September. As we get closer, the crisis intensifies. “There’s a lot of turbulence, really,” admits one adviser. Two others try to put in front of the coffee maker. “Should I do it?” asks the President. “You see: the role of women is always relegated to the kitchen. Simone Veil said so.” Her name will appear again in our conversation, as a model woman and a woman accustomed to challenges. Faced with the geopolitical context and the headache of the pandemic, the President of the ECB is obviously not omnipotent. But all eyes are on her as she, amid the storm, tries to stay on course and define her vision for growth. Does he think that the measures that have been imposed are sufficient? What will be their consequences? And how does he maintain hope for the future?

Read the full interview with Madame Figaro.

Source: Capital

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