The European Central Bank (ECB) obviously needs to be paid a visit by the protesting farmers.

A top European Central Bank official stunned employees by saying people who don’t buy into the institution’s green objectives aren’t welcome to work there.

Frank Elderson, one of six members of the ECB’s executive board, told an internal meeting: “I don’t want these people anymore.”

His comments, verified by POLITICO, have sparked outrage among ECB staff, who described them as “authoritarian” and said they showed a free and open discussion about climate change ― and the role the bank should play in tackling it ― was no longer possible at the Frankfurt-based organization.

At the meeting earlier this month, Elderson asked employees ― some in person, some online ― “Why would we want to hire people who we have to reprogram?  Because they came from the best universities, but they still don’t know how to spell the word ‘climate.’”

Reprogram? So Elderson would prefer non-thinking robots or yes men and women rather than people who can do their jobs well. The ECB is one of the most powerful banking institutions in the world, but it would prefer mediocrity over excellence.

The symbolism behind Frank Elderson’s statement and ECB’s president, Christine Legarde, backing him up really speaks volumes. In the same breath Legarde tried to have her cake and eat it too saying she also valued diversity but the damage is done.

With this in mind, the central bank will eventually become dedicated to rendering Europeans to lives of misery with Germany’s de-industrializing as their model. Or is it Great Britain? Then again, there’s that inconvenient D.E.I. policy the bank has that ECB brass have abridged.

The comments drew an angry reaction from employees who took to a private chatroom for bank staff. Their responses were also seen by POLITICO.

Elderson, who is the bank’s climate czar and vice-chair of its supervisory arm, “killed the ideal of diversity and inclusion in one sentence,” said one member of staff. “I thought these underpinned the culture of this institution.” They described the Dutchman’s comments as “authoritarian.” 

Others warned his comments risked fostering “groupthink,” which would impair the ECB’s decision-making.

This debacle exposes what Europe’s central government is all about. It is European bureaucrats, like Christine Leguarde and Frank Elderson, who have all of the power. The legislative body is merely symbolic and wields little ability to do very much of anything and this explains the farmer protests since they symbolize the disillusioned segment of the population.

Daniel Gros, director at the Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University in Milan was quoted by Politico as saying that ideological policymakers are not doing the ECB a favor and a lack of constructive dialogue over climate change including the role the institution plays is not plausible down the line. Here, here!

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay