Chancellor Angela Merkel won't push for a German to be the next president of the European Central Bank (ECB) and will focus on more significant appointments in Brussels instead, newspaper Handelsblatt reported Thursday.
There's been much debate on who's going to be the new ECB president in October next year with traders hoping for clues on the future of monetary policy in the euro zone. Many analysts have suggested that Merkel would support Jens Weidmann, the current central bank governor in Germany, known for his hawkish views. However, that now doesn't seem so straight forward.
According to Handelsblatt, citing sources in the government and in Brussels, Merkel is more interested in making a German official the next president of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, which is a key job that also becomes available in 2019.
Apart from European Commission president and ECB president, there will also be a new European Council president and the European Parliament will be renewed following elections in the spring of 2019.
It is still early to know who the candidates are for the top positions in Europe next year, but history shows that there will have to be some sort of equilibrium: splitting the different positions across different nationalities.
If indeed Merkel manages to get a German leading the Commission, then it's possible the next ECB president will be from France, for instance.
Germany has had one Commission president so far. Walter Hallstein was the first Commission leader of what it was called the European Economic Community at the time, later renamed the European Union.
There's never been a German at the top of the ECB since its inception in 1998, despite the bank being headquartered in Frankfurt.
According to the German newspaper, the Chancellery does not want to comment on next year's appointments, arguing "there is no need and no reason to participate by the Federal Government in speculation about the possible succession." When contacted by CNBC, a spokesperson for the German government refused to comment on the report.
Read more of the Handelsblatt report here.