The ECB's 'non-German German'.

• Position: OFF THE NEWS

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European political strategists say that the greatest problem with the exit of Buhdesbank President Axel Weber from the list of candidates to succeed Jean-Claude Trichet as European Central Bank president is the lack of an acceptable German alternative Current ECB Vice-President Jurgen Stark, a German, would face statutory difficulties were he to become a candidate for the top position. The worry is that the German people are already highly skeptical of the sovereign debt bailout activities taking place in Brussels and elsewhere, fearing that the euro could be compromised in the process. Thus, a German a the top of the central bank makes political sense given German's dominant role in political affairs. The German people are also well aware that in recent years Chancellor Angela Merkel has held back on demands for German representation in various...