‘European Central Bank. Director’s floor. Commotion over the upper echelons.’ On 22 April 1998, German cartoonist Bernd Bruns paints an ironic picture of tensions between France and Germany over the appointment of the future President of the European Central Bank, based in Frankfurt. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is keen to have a Dutch head of the ECB but is running into opposition from French President Jacques Chirac, who wants the post to be held by a French candidate.