Austria’s incoming central bank governor, behavioural economist Martin Kocher, is anticipated to be more restrained publicly than his outspoken predecessor, though he has previously criticised the Trump administration over threats to central bank independence.

Kocher, 51, will assume office on Monday, succeeding Robert Holzmann, 76, who during his six-year tenure at the Austrian National Bank was often considered in Frankfurt as being the European Central Bank’s most hawkish Governing Council member.

Although there are limited indications of Kocher’s stance on monetary policy, he is regarded as a reliable choice, with experience in both academia and government, Reuters reports.

“I think his approach will be not to be all that outspoken, tending towards more of a hawk than a dove,” according to Bank Austria's Chief Economist Stefan Bruckbauer, in reference to Austria and Germany's general tradition of conservatism in monetary policy.

“He is definitely qualified for the job and has the required background to grasp the complexity of all the decisions that a central bank must take.”

Kocher stepped down in 2021 from his role as head of the economic think-tank, Institute for Higher Studies, to join a prior government led by the conservative People’s Party (OVP).

He was later nominated by the OVP for the position of central bank governor and confirmed last summer. His predecessor, Holzmann, had been nominated by the far-right Freedom Party during a previous coalition with the OVP.

Kocher kept a low profile as a minister and stepped down from government following his confirmation as central bank governor.

One of his few recent public statements relevant to his new role was a July blog post titled “Washington – get a grip!”, in which he criticised the Trump administration for threatening the Federal Reserve’s independence and adding to economic uncertainty.

“It is violating the independence of the Federal Reserve - not through constant criticism of its monetary policy (which is, of course, permissible), but through institutional considerations based on dubious legal arguments and with the clearly stated desire to reduce the US national debt,” he said.

“Central bank independence includes a duty to point out how dangerous it is when that independence is undermined.”