Political Crisis Hits Bank Of Portugal Governor

Portugal's ongoing political crisis that has sparked the resignation of PM António Costa and the calling of a snap general election has now seen Bank of Portugal Govenor Mário Centeno enter in the firing line. This follows claims made in the FTthat over the weekend the governor “...had an invitation from the president and prime minister to reflect on and consider the possibility of leading the government,”.

• Then, earlier today the president's office released a statement claiming that "The president of the republic denies that he invited anyone, including the governor of the Bank of Portugal, to head the government.” After meeting with political parties, Rebelo de Sousa called the snap election for March.
• Centeno will now face an ethics review by an external watchdog, although the Jornal de Negocios reports that an initial assessment indicated the governor did not break the Bank's code of conduct. The governor has been in position at the Bank of Portugal since 2020, having served as finance minister as part of Costa's minority gov't from 2015-20. FT reports Centeno "...is one of several dovish voices among the governors of southern European nations on the ECB’s 26-person governing council, which sets interest rates."
• The opposition have called for Centeno's resignation, with centre-right Social Democrat leader Luis Montenegro stating Centeno will “need to assess his impartiality,” while libertarian Liberal Initiative head Rui Costa argued Centeno “...is not in a position to continue at the Bank of Portugal,”