THE Dutch banker chosen to head the powerful new Euro-bank asserted his independence yesterday by pouring scorn on the political deal engineered by Tony Blair to secure his appointment.
Wim Duisenberg startled the European Parliament with his frank assessment of the ''absurd'' compromise that took more than 11 hours to hammer out in Brussels last weekend.
In a move that could reopen the bitter row between France and Germany over who should run monetary policy once the single currency is introduced in January, Mr Duisenberg warned he might refuse to stand down as agreed halfway through his eight-year term, the length originally set for an individual to hold the post.
Giving evidence during American-style confirmation hearings held by the European Parliament, he said the compromise hammered out during the summit called to give European monetary union the go-ahead had left a ''bad taste'' in the mouth. The only way to remove it was by speaking out and ''brushing the teeth''.
Although the deal has had no noticeable effect on the markets' confidence in monetary union, Mr Duisenberg's intervention will reinforce concerns that the single currency could be prey to political interference.
Mr Duisenberg, chosen by 14 of the European Union's 15 member states to head the European Central Bank, confirmed that he was the victim of what amounted to a political stitch-up designed to appease the French, who blocked his nomination for a full term.
President Jacques Chirac's insistence that the job should go to Banque de France governor Jean-Claude Trichet instead of Mr Duisenberg provoked angry scenes during long negotiations on Saturday night, described by a seething German Chancellor Helmut Kohl as a ''dog-fight''.
Mr Duisenberg, who was forced to go before the assembled heads of government and declare that he was prepared to stand down in favour of Mr Trichet after only four years, revealed he had come under intense pressure to fix a departure date.
Using scarcely veiled diplomatic language, he attacked the French for putting nationality ahead of other qualifications. Although conceding that these type of appointments were ultimately political, he said: ''One thing I am sure of is that under the heading of qualifications you do not find nationality. I deplore the fact that the nationality question has come so much to the fore,'' he said.
Describing French central banker Jean-Claude Trichet as ''an excellent candidate'', Mr Duisenberg told MEPs he regarded the decision as - ''well, to phrase it very carefully, I find it slightly absurd''.
Mr Duisenberg insisted he had made clear before his appointment he was unlikely to serve the full eight years. But he appeared to contradict the French interpretation of the weekend deal by refusing to say when he is likely to go.
The French claim he has agreed to go by July 2002, when euro notes and coins are introduced across the euro-zone and existing currencies withdrawn.
Mr Duisenberg told MEPs he would be there until at least July 2002: ''How long thereafter is still open. Nobody knows that - I don't know that either. I have never stated that I will serve only four or five years. What I have done is indicate that I regard it as not likely that if appointed I would serve the full term of eight years, given my age.''
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