The hawk quits
ECB executive board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger has resigned from the executive board effective Oct 31.
This is a surprise and immediately the speculation is that she quit because she is far more hawkish than anyone else on the executive. The timing is also interesting because it comes on Draghi's last day (and Lagarde's first day). Her term had more than two years remaining.
You rarely get an answer from policymakers on why they quit and I don't expect anything different here. This does open up a spot on the executive board and that will presumably be filled by an Italian given Draghi's departure and lack of representation in top EU and eurozone positions.
Update: As suspected, the WSJ reports that she quit due to opposition to the latest ECB stimulus measures.
