The President of the German Bundesbank, Joachim Nagel, sharply criticised Donald Trump’s personal attacks on U.S. central‑bank chief Jerome Powell. “That is nonsense” Nagel told the “Tagesspiegel”. He said he knows Powell well, values his professionalism, and is “shocked to the core” by the political targeting. Nagel reminded that after World War II the United States taught Germany the importance of independent central banks-indeed, the foundation of the Bundesbank was laid in 1948 with the Bank deutscher Länder in Frankfurt, which later became a model for the European Central Bank.
Trump has recently intensified both political and legal pressure on Powell. The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing a possible indictment alleging that the renovation costs for the Fed building were excessive, a move that many suspect is an attempt to influence the Fed’s interest‑rate policy. Trump has repeatedly threatened to fire Powell.
Nagel does not expect similar attacks on the independence of European central banks. “No, all euro‑area governments are clearly committed to independence” he said. To safeguard it, he urged EU citizens to recognize that the independence of monetary policy must be sustained by the public.