What had been whispered in recent days about Kyriakos Pierrakakis, almost immediately after Pascal Donohoe’s announcement that he was stepping down from the Eurogroup presidency to move to the World Bank, was officially confirmed on Friday. Kyriakos Pierrakakis and Belgian Vincent van Peteghem are the two contenders for the Eurogroup presidency, both coming from the European People’s Party (EPP).
Faced with this development, rumors about the fate of the Greek finance minister are swirling, with reports suggesting that Pascal Donohoe himself not only prefers Kyriakos Pierrakakis as his successor in the Eurogroup, but is said to have given him the “ring” of succession. In this context, according to parapolitika.gr sources, Kyriakos Pierrakakis is traveling to Ireland on Sunday to meet with Mr. Donohoe.
It should be noted that the Greek minister already met in Berlin five days ago with his German counterpart and Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil. While nothing was said in the official statements of the two ministers about Pierrakakis’s then-pending candidacy, behind the scenes Kyriakos Pierrakakis reportedly found another ally in the race for the Eurogroup presidency.
Does Pierrakakis have hopes of being elected Eurogroup president?
However, beyond Irish Donohoe and German Klingbeil, the Greek official’s candidacy appears to be gathering significant support from many of his counterparts. Why? Because on one hand, Greece is emerging as one of the countries with the best economic performance in the eurozone, having achieved impressive fiscal recovery over the past decade, and on the other hand, Kyriakos Pierrakakis has managed in just eight months to earn respect at Eurogroup and ECOFIN meetings, promoting growth policies and opposing proposals that would further burden European economies. His track record as a reformer in the ministries of Digital Policy and Education also strengthens his profile.
The opponent from Belgium
As for the Greek minister’s competitor, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Vincent van Peteghem, he had considered seeking the position in the past, but decided not to compete against outgoing president Pascal Donohoe.
