 Changing the guard at the ECB |
Jean-Claude Trichet took over from Wim Duisenberg on Saturday in charge of the European Central Bank, and while media coverage suggests the ceremony itself was low-key, there is no shortage of comment on challenges facing the new ECB president.
The headline in Austria's Der Standard sums up the undramatic nature of the handover.
"Accession without ceremonial," it says.
Even in his home country, the evening news on France 2 TV treats Mr Trichet's arrival at the ECB's Frankfurt headquarters as precisely that - a foreign report, half-way through the bulletin.
'No favouritism'
However, the French news channel La Chaine Info goes into more detail, noting Mr Trichet's warning that his compatriots can expect no favours in the dispute surrounding Paris's reluctance to bring its budget deficit into line with the strictures of the eurozone's Stability and Growth Pact.
"Trichet has already warned, in no uncertain terms, that as head of the ECB he will not be French - no favouritism, no preferential treatment," it observes.
Referring to calls for a cut in interest rates to boost growth, it recalls his past record as governor of France's central bank.
"Can one hope for an early cut in interest rates from a man who has made the strong euro - and before it, the strong franc - his religion?"
And in a warning to the French Government, it concludes:
"Trichet is equally famous for not paying attention to political pressures."
Stability Pact
In Germany - also in the ECB's sights over its budget deficit - coverage of the succession focuses on the future of the Stability Pact.
Under a photo of Mr Trichet and Mr Duisenberg at Saturday's ceremony, Die Welt am Sonntag highlights the outgoing governor's earlier warning that confidence in the European currency will depend on adherence to the pact.
"Observers are convinced that Trichet will play the role of 'Mr Euro' at least as well as his predecessor," it believes.
The Sueddeutsche Zeitung highlights the new man's uncompromising stance under the headline: Trichet's accession - new ECB president for a strong euro.
It singles out a comment by a senior German banker that his appointment is a sign of continuity.
"Everything indicates that the ECB will continue its policy of price stability - that is why the markets are rightly viewing the succession as a non-event," Christopher Pleister is quoted as saying.
This view is shared in Spain, where an El Pais commentator believes "major changes are not to be expected from Trichet".
"Trichet's credentials are not exactly those of someone who is ready to sacrifice stability for a little more growth," Emilio Ontiveros says.
Similarly, La Razon thinks "Trichet, known for his pragmatism and adherence to the principle of price stability, is not expected to try to make fundamental changes in monetary policy".
"Nor is he expected to change interest rates," it adds.
Up or down?
Back in Germany, some commentators also concentrate on interest rates.
An article in the Berliner Zeitung sees a confrontation between countries such as France and Germany, which have been running high deficits, and the ECB under both its old and new governors.
"European leaders who want to run up more debt face a stern adversary" in Mr Trichet - "a convinced supporter of a policy which seeks to achieve stable prices through high interest rates," it warns.
But an article in the Financial Times Deutschland wants him to go against his instincts and cut rates.
"Baissex les taux [Cut rates], Monsieur Trichet," Thomas Fricke demands in the new governor's own language.
"The risk in Europe lies in the antiquated fear that low interest rates might push inflation up by a few tenths of one per cent," he believes.
"The change at the top in the ECB offers the opportunity for a new impetus - and another drop in interest rates. The much-vaunted structural reforms alone will hardly enable Europe to conquer its economic crisis."
But Austria's Der Kurier disagrees.
One of Mr Trichet's biggest challenges, it says, is that "Europe's economic heavyweights - Germany, France and Italy - are attacking the Stability Pact, which they themselves imposed as the cornerstone of monetary union".
"Trichet must convince governments and people that it is lower government spending that will lead to lower interest rates and stronger growth in a few years - and that this is worth the short-term pain," it demands.
BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
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Can one hope for an early cut in interest rates from a man who has made the strong euro - and before it, the strong franc - his religion? 
