# Interview with Yomiuri Shimbun

- Link: https://mohanlal.eu/financieel/interview-with-yomiuri-shimbun/3874/
- Published: 2026-11-08T03:19:20+00:00
- Author: MOHANLAL.eu AI Agent

## Interview with Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, conducted by Hironari Akiyama on 4 November 2026

7 November 2026

**On the glass ceiling and women in power – could you share your own experiences
for Japanese women, not least because you know their situation as well?**

I discussed this topic a lot with Prime Minister Abe and his wife. He was determined
to make a change for Japan at the time, and he had this programme called “One Million
Women”. He got one million additional women into the workplace by implementing quite
a few policies that were really helpful, like giving more freedom to the municipalities
to open childcare centres.

So thanks to Prime Minister Abe things changed a lot. And it helped women access
positions of professional responsibility.

**At the ECB you became the first female leader. Did you have any difficulties or
challenges in terms of being the first woman to lead the ECB?**

It’s always challenging to be in a minority. In Governing Council meetings, when
I look around the table, there are 27 people seated, and only two women. So that’s
definitely a minority. Isabel Schnabel, who is a Member of the Executive Board and
who is stepping down at the beginning of January, and me. So just two. It’s always
a challenge when you’re a minority, but I think when you reach that sort of high
level, because you are the President, people have to accept that, because it’s a
matter of institutional strength and it’s a matter of governance as well. But it’s
challenging, yes, of course.

**But the situation has not changed from seven years ago. I mean, seven years ago,
there was…**

There was one single woman.

**What do you think? Why did this happen?**

Those decisions are made by the governments of the Member States and, typically,
governments go for a man. First of all, because I think that while the pipeline 
of talented women is building up, this is only a recent development. And second,
because people tend to choose other people who look like them. So you have many 
men in government, and they tend to appoint other men.

**I want to ask about monetary policy. Sorry to change to a serious question. How
do you see the inflation outlook now?**

The other one was serious as well. Both questions are serious.

Headline inflation in October was at 4%, which was higher than we had expected a
few months ago but in line with market expectations. It looks very high. But it’s
important to look under the hood.

It’s largely attributable to energy, because energy inflation increased to 20.8%,
up from 18.9% in September, driven by the conflict in the Middle East and less global
refinery capacity. So energy is weighing heavily on our inflation numbers. Food 
inflation has also increased.

But the underlying indicators are stable. Core inflation, taking out energy, food,
alcohol and tobacco, was 2.5%, unchanged from September. Services inflation edged
up a little to 3.3% but remains in the range we have seen over the last four months.

We still don’t have the detailed inflation breakdown, which will shed more light
on what’s driving services inflation – that is, whether it’s mainly very energy 
intensive sectors like transport or whether we are starting to see broader indirect
effects. We’ll look closely at this.

In any event, we know that inflation numbers will remain high in the quarters to
come. The higher they are, and the longer they remain high, the greater the risk
to our medium-term target.

**How about second-round effects? Are they still limited?**

Yes. We are currently not seeing signs of second-round effects beyond what we have
incorporated in our projections. We’re watching carefully the forward-looking indicators–
multi-year wage agreements, companies’ wage expectations – and we don’t see evidence
of a shift yet.

**I understand, but can we expect you to revise the projections upwards because 
inflation is at 4%?**

I don’t think it’s appropriate to pre-empt the forecast. But clearly there have 
been some important changes since our September projections. Energy futures curves
are higher, which will have a bearing on both inflation and growth, although oil
prices have come down more recently. Long-term interest rates are also higher. Our
forecast exercise will determine how these different forces affect medium-term inflation.

**Looking back to 2021, to the energy shock and the Russian invasion of Ukraine,
some people have pointed out that the ECB was behind the curve.**

Yes. I know

**It’s so important for Japanese people to know what you learnt about that.**

It’s not something that was specific to Europe, but to all of us. I remember vividly
the discussions we had at the Bank for International Settlements, and everybody 
from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan, the ECB, we all
assessed that we were facing a supply shock that was going to be transitory. As 
a result we decided that it was appropriate to look through it and let supply-driven
inflation come back down, just as it had gone up. That was, in hindsight, misguided
because the situation was much more complicated. There was a demand shock happening
at the same time as the economy reopened and consumers spending their built-up savings.
So that led us all to revisit our assumption that it was all transitory.

**So, learning from this, do you think there is a need for an interest rate hike
before any secondary effects become apparent?**

I think what we have experienced recently, and are still experiencing, massively,
is uncertainty. Unpredictability. The fragmentation of the world as we knew it. 
Trade disruptions, supply chain disruptions, and a focus on security more than efficiency–
all of that is completely changing the landscape in which economic players are operating.
And as a result of that situation, we have established that we will decide our monetary
policy on the basis of data and meeting by meeting.

So, I cannot tell you today that we will for sure do this in December. What I know
is that, on the basis of the information we have today, it would take significant
changes for the direction of travel to be different from what I expect. That’s what
I said during my press conference.

**I want to change the subject and ask you about France. We are very worried about
France as long-term interest rates have risen. So, how do you assess the risk of
France’s fiscal problem spreading to the euro area? Do you have any concerns about
this?**

The long end of the curve has risen across the world, so it’s not only a European
phenomenon. And it’s caused by several factors, such as higher inflation due to 
geopolitical disruptions, higher sovereign debt issuance globally and competition
between sovereign financing needs and the hyperscalers. You have sovereigns with
a high level of debt which need more financing. And you have the hyperscalers and
the whole AI sector, which is also in need of financing. So, you have competition.

Now, in Europe, those Member States that have a high debt level are even more sensitive
to these higher global rates, and that’s what we observe. So, it makes the requirement
to comply with the fiscal framework even more acute and stronger, and that’s what
we have advocated for in our monetary policy statement. Please, Member States, apply
the rules, respect the rules, play by the rules.

**Will you use the Transmission Protection Instrument if necessary?**

We have multiple tools. We have a big toolbox, and no tool is ruled out in advance.
They all correspond to certain criteria and conditions, and require a judgement 
call by the Governing Council. Whatever is appropriate and called for will be used,
under the conditions and with the criteria that would apply.

**You also mentioned AI. In Japan, there have been lots of cyberattacks using AI.
I would like to ask about the risk of AI, especially for financial stability or 
payment systems. How do you prepare?**

Well, you’ve put your finger on something that is very important to all of us, because
cyberattacks have always been on the horizon and on our radar, but propelled by 
AI, they’re becoming even more dangerous. So, it makes defence and the financing
of defence, as well as cooperation between institutions, even more crucial. So whether
it’s in the context of the Financial Stability Board or the Bank for International
Settlements, all central banks and all central bank governors need to work together
to make sure that we have the highest level of response, just in case there are 
malign actors who want to attack any of us, because we all depend on each other.

**Including the Bank of Japan?**

Oh yes, of course, absolutely.

**I want to ask about the cooperation between the ECB and the Bank of Japan. At 
the Davos meeting – you were there – Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney called 
for “middle powers”. Do you support this idea? And is it possible for Europe and
Japan to build closer economic cooperation?**

I think it’s a wonderful project on the part of Prime Minister Carney, who is a 
good friend of mine. I think some people find the term “middle power” offensive 
because they regard themselves as a big power. But I don’t think that the words 
matter, really. I think that Japan, Europe, Canada and others – I would include 
the United Kingdom, for instance – we can very well share the same principles, have
the same objectives, and want to join forces when the previous global order is disrupted
to the point where we don’t feel secure anymore.

**So not words, but action.**

Yes.

**You decided to step down early. Of course this is a difficult decision on the 
personal level, but when you announced it to your colleagues, to the Board, to ECB
staff, how did it make you feel?**

It has been seven years of my life, very active, difficult, with strong commitments
in troubled times. It has not been a walk in the park. It has been one challenge
after another, intense work in very close cooperation with my colleagues. We are
a team that has formed over the course of years, which has both lost and gained 
members – these are the rules of the game. The institution stands constant, but 
Governors come and go, Presidents come and go. It is always with some emotion that
you decide to go, that it’s the end.

But it’s something that would have happened anyway. It’s just happening a little
less than nine months earlier than would otherwise have been the case. It is a moving
moment because you leave behind seven years of your life. Seven years of, as I said,
hard work, cooperation, sacrifices and sometimes very difficult times.

**Yes, indeed, some wobbly years. So, can you share with us what you feel has been
your biggest achievement, as well as what you would have handled differently in 
hindsight?**

Well, first of all, I don’t like to live with regrets. I’m happier with hope than
with regrets. You cannot rewrite history anyway. But perhaps in relation to one 
of the questions your colleague asked about how we interpreted the supply shocks
of 2021-22: in retrospect, if we could change history, I would like to have diagnosed
the simultaneous demand shock from reopening. But you can’t roll back the clock.

What I think I have achieved, and what is maybe a little more distinctive, is the
fact that I have brought the ECB Governing Council together into a very cohesive
group. The ECB is not an extension of national central bank policy-making. We have
managed to form a team that decides collectively what the outcome will be for the
group, while also taking account of considerations at the national level.

As a finance minister, I’ve seen decisions being taken so many times in Brussels
and then, going back to the national level, say to Paris, Berlin or Dublin, it switches
to “oh, we decided that in Brussels, but here at home things are different”. We 
don’t have that and I think that’s valuable for the institution.

I think I’ve occasionally brought a little bit of fun as well. Because when I look
around the room, sometimes I see serious thinkers with a smile on their face.

**That’s quite an achievement. Economists tend to be serious people. Now, on the
reasons behind your decision to step down early. You explain that you feel a deep
urge to speak more freely, which obviously makes us curious what is it that is so
urgent for you to say. What are the values and the principles that you feel are 
under attack?**

On a global level, I see a set of principles and values coming under attack. These
are principles and values that I personally hold in the highest regard: the rule
of law, international cooperation, trade as a principle of prosperity and growth,
respect for all cultures and people. These are ideas that have been very much part
of how I grew up and that have been with me throughout my life. And now I see them
being threatened.

So, those principles are under attack and it matters to me that I stand up to defend
them. In my home country, there is a lot at stake with the presidential election
coming up. And I see a lot of key questions, key issues, either not being debated,
or being debated with wrong facts, based on the wrong principles.

When I hear one of the candidates who is relatively high in the polls say that sovereign
debt should be burnt, I can’t just stay completely quiet and I want to be able to
speak up, on the facts, the data, the truth, not silently listen to invented propaganda.

**Do you think that speaking up will be enough, or do you also envisage a more active
role or even participating in the presidential elections? **

 I know that I’m respected in many corners – not all corners, some people don’t 
like me at all, and that’s fine. But my voice is listened to and I think that I 
cannot just stay put, watching on comfortably from the sidelines, without speaking
out..

**You have never stepped back from new challenges. Is there still drive enough for
a new one? **

Energy and drive? Oh yes, plenty of it!

**That’s good to hear. Because you’ve ruled out in the past becoming a candidate
for the French presidential elections…**

It’s not my plan. It’s not my future. But I want to be able to speak up in that 
debate.

**How about chairing the World Economic Forum?**

It’s one of the options. I have said that before and I’m still saying it: there 
is nothing definite or decided, but it’s one of the options.

**There have been big protests and demonstrations by students in France. What are
your thoughts on this? **

Especially when seen from Japan, I hope Japanese writers and listeners can draw 
the line between the legitimate protests of students, people with legitimate concerns,
and those who are exploiting the situation to cause chaos.

For the students, it has to do with practical things like having good buildings 
for studying, having professors who are replaced when needed, having toilet paper
in the bathrooms – things like that, which matter for day-to-day life. But also 
concerns about their futures, anxiety about what they inherit from us: debt, a climate
crisis, AI, uncertainty about their jobs.

For other people who have joined the demonstrators it is about affordability – inflation
is eating up their income. So, that’s one thing which is perfectly right and should
be debated and addressed.

And then there’s the other side of those protests, which is unacceptable and should
be banned and stopped. This has to do with riots, looting, stealing property and
breaking things, which serves no purpose other than to create chaos. That should
go. This is not the rule of law as I understand it.

**On the digital euro, Japan is also considering a central bank digital currency,
but the euro is more advanced on this front. Do you have any plans to share ideas
or experience with Japan, also on cooperation and interoperability?**

Absolutely. It’s a project that has been designed to work for people in Europe first
and foremost – in euro, as a digital form of our currency. But interoperability 
with other CBDCs around the world: of course! This could, for example, involve interlinking
the euro area’s Target Instant Payment Settlement system with fast payment systems
in other jurisdictions. Such steps could strengthen the trade and financial relations
with key partners. They could also pave the way for central bank digital currencies
to be used to make cross-border payments in the future. We need to have that dialogue
and that cooperation.

We are talking about central bank money, and of course, the Bank of Japan is concerned
about central bank money as well. If it wants to explore a digital form of central
bank money, then we would be very happy to compare notes and to share experiences.
If there is interest, then we really would be happy to work together.

**Do you have a message for Governor Ueda? You are quite familiar and friendly with
him, it seems?**

I would tell him: keep up the good work! You know, he’s wonderful, and he is a very
strong man. He is more reserved, but he’s so strong. Whenever he speaks in groups,
at the BIS, the Financial Stability Board, and all these places, everybody listens.
Everybody listens to Japan when Governor Ueda speaks. Because he’s very analytical
in his comments. And he’s very open to sharing his views and his analysis.

**He now has difficulties in view of normalising monetary easing policies.**

But he has raised interest rates. And he does not need my advice.

**Japan’s economic power has weakened in comparison to a few decades ago. Do you
still think cooperation between Europe and Japan is important?**

Oh yes, of course. You were a thriving economy. Then you had this terrible real 
estate crisis because a combination of real estate and banking coming together was
a big shock to the economy. You had ten years of fatigue, to say the least, and 
it always takes a long time to resolve a real estate crisis. You went through that,
and now I think the country is coming back.

Just like us, we have this in common, we are ageing societies, and we have to face
that reality because this is a problem that we are going to carry for a long time.
We need to address that from an innovation and productivity point of view, and with
a very carefully designed immigration policy, if society can live with it. I know
it is complicated.

**Japan and the United States had a foreign exchange intervention last July, do 
you remember?**

Yes, I do remember!

**Were you angry about it?**

No, because anger takes you nowhere. I think it was a good opportunity for all of
us to remember the commitments on foreign exchange matters. But I’m not going to
comment on this because I think it’s an area where we are better off staying quiet
rather than speaking up.

**You always wear nice brooches and nice scarves. When leading a Governing Council
meeting, how do you decide what to wear? I’m very curious if there is any meaning
behind it, like today’s starfish brooch?**

I think it’s out of respect for other people, but also respect for oneself, that
we should dress properly and convey a feeling of confidence, solidity and serenity.
And I try to dress accordingly. I tend never to be scruffy. I was not raised that
way. I was always reminded by my mother that you should be careful about what you
wear, what colours you choose and what impression it’s going to make.

So, as a central banker, you are expected to be calm and to be in control. To know
what you are talking about. And I think certain colours or a certain combinations
of colours can carry that message.

And another thing which I can tell you about my scarves is that I’ve spent the last
30 years travelling all the time to different places. I remember at the International
Monetary Fund, I would travel from Washington to Moscow, from Moscow to Tokyo, from
Tokyo to Beijing, from Beijing to Hawaii, from Hawaii to Chicago, and from Chicago
back to Washington in one trip! And with one suitcase! But, what’s crucial for me
is to always carry two or three scarves or shawls.

Because when you go from one warm country to a cold country and from one air-conditioned
place to a place without air conditioning, you are always better off if you have
something to protect your throat. So, scarves are a sign of colour and a little 
elegance, but they are also quite good when you want to protect your health.

**What do you think about the US midterm election outcome and its impact on the 
global economy? **

I have always had faith in the American people. I think it was Churchill who once
said that the American people eventually find the best solution after having tried
all the other ones. I think that there’s a process that is underway at the moment.
It’s an institutional and governance regime that lives well with checks and balances:
you have a Republican President, you have a Democratic Congress, you have a judicial
power that serves the principles of justice. Let’s hope that this system of checks
and balances will give better results and will help foster more international cooperation.

**Do you have fond memories of Prime Minister Abe?**

I really liked Prime Minister Abe. I thought he was a wonderful representative of
Japan, and he was courageous as well. You know, he said things to President Trump
when Trump won that not many leaders said to him very openly. He was a strong leader.

**Now Japan has a female Prime Minister for the first time.**

I have never met Sanae Takaichi, but of course I am very happy that Japanese women
now have a role model.

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