The row over who will be the first president of the European Central Bank is rumbling on. It had appeared that a compromise had been struck by which Dutchman Wim Duisenberg and French central bank chief JeanClaude Trichet would split the first eight-year term between them. Whether this was ever a serious runner is not clear but it has now disappeared from the agenda.

What is clear is that the whole thing is now much more than a minor spat over who will have the honour of being the first president.

Germany wants Mr Duisenberg, the former head of the Dutch central bank, because it believes that he well understands how to run a strong currency policy, as the guilder has tracked the mark for many years.

The suspicion is that France wants Mr Trichet because it believes he might run a less austere policy and take more heed of issues such as unemployment.

With the central bank due to come into existence sometime in the middle of this year - Mr Duisenberg is already in charge of its fore-runner, the European Monetary Institute - the row will have to be sorted out quickly.

Already it threatens to damage the credibility of the new central bank, which will be absolutely central to investor confidence worldwide in the new currency.