With the naming of Belgian Peter Praet as the new European Central Bank (ECB) chief economist, Berlin’s sphere of influence is significantly reduced. It's the first time in the bank's history that the influential post has gone to someone from outside of Germany.

The appointment has been welcomed by some economic experts, who say it has resolved - at least for now - a rivalry between France and Germany.

Both laid claim to the job but voiced fundamentally different views on how the ECB should tackle the current eurozone debt crisis.

A brave face

But Germany is putting on a brave face.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has endorsed Praet’s appointment, saying it puts the ECB in a good position to meet the challenges ahead.

"The changes are the result of a well-balanced decision," said Schäuble in Berlin.

Germany's opposition Left Party has also welcomed the change. In a Twitter message, Left Party chief, Klaus Ernst, called the Belgian "a good choice for Europe."

"He's the right man to make the ECB more active in the current crisis," Ernst added.

"We simply have to realize that the ECB is not Germany's Federal Bank," said Michael Hüther, head of the Cologne-based Institute of the German Economy (IW).

"Praet is a man without any ideological blinkers," said Hüther. "And the ECB has to retain its openness in the current situation."

A bitter pill

Germany's candidate for the top job, Jörg Asmussen, will now have to make do as the ECB's man for international and European relations and as head of its legal department.

The former state secretary in the German finance ministry denied he was disappointed.

"I'm satisfied," Asmussen told Germany’s Bild newspaper. "Together with ECB President Mario Draghi, I'll be dealing with the short-term crisis management and shaping the eurozone's financial stability in the long-term."

But Germany's Greens Party says the government has been put in a difficult position.

"Asmussen’s failure represents an awkward policy setback for the government", said Gerhard Schick, Greens financial affairs spokesman, in an interview with the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg Bank, agrees that Praet is qualified, but told the Handelsblatt daily it would have been better for Germans if Asmussen had got the job.

"Having a German in the post would have been an advantage when communicating the ECB's special policy measures to people in the eurozone's biggest economy - Germany," said Schmieding.

Schmieding and German policymakers may, however, take some comfort from the fact that Peter Praet spent the first 17 years of his life in Germany and probably knows a thing or two about how Germans tick.

Author: Hardy Graupner (dpa, Reuters, AFP)
Editor: Zulfikar Abbany