PM says Peter Kazimir's interested in post of governor at Slovakia's central bank

Slovakia's finance minister is interested in becoming governor of the country's central bank if the current governor steps down, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said on Thursday, confirming media speculation.

The minister, Peter Kazimir, has not confirmed or denied his candidacy. Nor has the governor, Jozef Makuch, officially decided to step down, but he said in September that he might, to allow parliament to name his successor before what are expected to be highly divisive elections in spring 2020.

A lengthy vacancy would be a further blow to the European Central Bank since the governor sits on the ECB's policy-making governing council. The council has been missing Latvia's central bank governor for most of this year. Makuch, whose term ends in 2021, told reporters last month he considers Kazimir a suitable replacement.

Opinion polls show that as many as eight parties might be elected to parliament in the 2020 vote, with the three-party centre-left governing coalition losing its majority and the opposition failing to gain a convincing upper hand.

(With inputs from agencies.)