Austria’s Next Central Bank Governor: Martin Kocher

By Francois Murphy and Alexandra Schwarz-Goerlich

VIENNA (Reuters) – Austria’s next central bank governor, behavioural economist Martin Kocher, is expected to maintain a milder public demeanor than his outspoken predecessor. However, he has previously rebuked the Trump administration regarding threats to central bank independence.

Kocher, 51, will assume office on Monday, succeeding Robert Holzmann, 76, who served as the Austrian National Bank governor for six years and was often a lone dissenter within the European Central Bank’s Governing Council due to his hawkish stance.

While Kocher’s approach to monetary policy remains somewhat unclear, he is regarded as experienced and reliable, both academically and in government. Stefan Bruckbauer, Chief Economist of Bank Austria, remarked that Kocher is likely to be somewhat hawkish, reflecting Austria and Germany’s tradition of conservatism in monetary policy.

Kocher, a marathon runner with a personal best of just over three hours, previously led the Institute for Higher Studies economic think-tank before entering government under the conservative People’s Party (OVP) in 2021. He was nominated for the governor position by the OVP and confirmed last summer. In contrast, Holzmann was nominated by the far-right Freedom Party during a previous coalition with the OVP.

In his ministerial role, Kocher was relatively low-profile and departed government prior to his confirmation as central bank governor. He made a notable statement in a blog post in July titled “Washington – get a grip!”, criticizing the Trump administration for undermining the Federal Reserve’s independence and amplifying economic uncertainty.

Kocher argued that the interference undermines central bank independence, as it includes questionable legal arguments and a stated intent to diminish the U.S. national debt. He emphasized the duty to highlight the dangers posed by such attacks on central bank independence.