Jens Weidmann, 42, a close aide to Chancellor Angela Merkel, was named as the next head of Germany’s Central Bank, a source said yesterday, after Axel Weber dramatically resigned last week.

Asked if Berlin had decided on Mr Weidmann as the next head of the powerful German Bundesbank, a government source replied: “Yes.” While Mr Weidmann will be ready to step into Mr Weber’s shoes in Frankfurt, the German government has no real candidate to propose as next head of the European Central Bank to replace Frenchman Jean-Claude Trichet in October.

Mr Weber was the front-runner for the ECB post and his resignation opened the field up to several others interested in running the world’s second most powerful central bank after the US Federal Reserve. Mr Weidmann will assume Mr Weber’s seat on the ECB governing council as head of the Bundesbank.

At the Bundesbank, Mr Weidmann will have to demonstrate he is his own man and not beholden to Chancellor Angela Merkel, for whom he became an important influence over the past four years. Barclays Capital economist Thorsten Polleit told AFP: “Eyebrows might be raised” at the path leading straight from Merkel’s office to Frankfurt.

Some politicians were also uneasy, with a leader of the opposition Social Democratic Party saying before the appointment that it would “undermine confidence in the Bundesbank’s independence.”