Mário Centeno has ‘done it’. Despite the howls about ‘conflict of interest’, the attempt at a legal embargo (click here), the former Socialist finance minister will have his feet under the desk of the Governor of the Bank of Portugal from Monday morning.
As such critics feel he’ll ‘have an agenda’ with regard to some of the many dossiers he dealt with while in government.
But those in favour – and Centeno himself – say he will be entirely impartial.
Indeed, his ‘champions’ believe he is perfect for the job.
This is the man who only officially left his role as the president of the Eurogroup three days ago.
It has been less of a revolving door, more of a catapult.
He changed jobs so fast that even the draft law approved – to try and stymy his nomination – on the day he left his post at the government hasn’t been able to keep up with him.
But, as Lusa points out, Mário Centeno can’t dodge the fact that his has been the only nomination for central bank governor so far in Portuguese history to have received ‘negative votes in parliament’ from every political party other than his own.
