Interview Quotes

Vision of the Future and a Call for Reckoning

"We will live in a world which is more volatile, which is more prone to shocks, and which has clearly fragmented under our eyes in the last few years."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:00:05

"I hope we come to a moment of reckoning where we realize that there is only one planet, that the distribution of revenue is clearly important, and where we have to live in a society that is not utterly divided and hostile to each other."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:00:33

Leadership Philosophy and Personal Background

"You know, I've often been an outsider. So I'm used to it."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:01:47

"And I think that what I've learned in all those situations is that you have to work very hard. Not to catch up because you're never going to catch up. You're never going to reinvent yourself. But at least to not be fooled by people who will try to pull wool over your eyes by using jargons or theories or quoting so and so. And second, you have to be surrounded by a team of people that you trust, competent in the fields that you are short of."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:01:58

"It's just not my style. And so far, it has served me reasonably well. Even in times of crisis, when you've established your leadership, notably by respecting the views, notably by being tolerant, notably by listening to what people have to say. In times of crisis, when you have to move fast, then people will go with you and they will respect you."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:02:36

"I think it's rooted in my values and in my personal background, yes."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:02:56

"My childhood was, by the seaside, happy. Both my parents were professors, so there were lots of books in the house. A lot of activities, a lot of intellectual concerns quite early on. Music played an important role. And we were lucky to have opera singers and musicians around. And I've always remembered one lovely conductor who explained to me, you always have to be one step ahead when you conduct the orchestra."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:03:08

"And I think that influenced my leadership later on. It's not a question of the credit that you get, but it's a question of moving forward and moving together."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:04:49

"Well, first of all, I learned how not to believe what people say. I observe sometimes the way in which people behave without them knowing, you know, in a meeting, in a conference, at a table, I look at how people behave and relate to each other."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:06:17

Navigating Crises

"We saw the financial crisis arrive, in a way. And there were not many people who could see it. Those of us who could, were trying as hard as possible to fix it and put a stop to certain things. But it was rolling. It was, you know, fire under the ashes."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:07:26

"But I, together with other key finance ministers, we tried to keep the boat afloat."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:08:19

"The negotiations were very difficult because we were not prepared for that."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:09:32

"Because the Europeans amongst themselves did not have the will or the tools to actually rescue one of their members."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:10:03

"Yes, it did. Because the Greek crisis helped us put the finger on what was missing and how much progress we had to make. But it was also a confirmation that we were in this together and that there was no way one country could exit. Because if one country could exit, all countries could exit. And the group was gone."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:10:39

"No, I don't think I'm a quitter. I can move. I can escape. But I'm not a quitter, no."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:11:59

Challenges Facing Europe

"So the beauty of Europe is also the plague of Europe. The beauty of being together, being tolerant, respecting views, elaborating consensus, moving the needle a bit, and respecting the democratic foundations and being in all this together. That's the beauty of it. But if you have to, you know, keep all that and yet make very fast decisions and implement and conduct change, this is hard."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:14:01

"I think social media is a really important point that you mentioned, because they operate as a reductor and an accelerator."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:16:07

"And populism is certainly growing, and in many European countries we have populist leaders, right and left, who are going for the easy target. Easy target, easy reasoning, easy voting."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:16:38

"Clearly the role that China played as of its entrance into the WTO made this issue of distribution of revenue more acute. No question. And these are the targets for populism. People who feel that they have been left out. That they have not benefited from those movements. That nobody pays attention to them."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:17:47

Central Bank Independence

"I think we have to earn that independence. And I think we have to be accountable for this independence. But the independence is critically important to make sure that the decisions are as unbiased as possible and only determined by the macroeconomic analysis and the anticipation of what monetary policy will do."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:18:34

"There is a very good reason for that. Typically, monetary policy decisions have an impact down the road. If I hike, cut or hold, it's not going to have an impact now, nor in six months' time, and probably not even in a year's time."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:19:10

"At the European Central Bank we are privileged in the sense that the independence is engraved, embedded, if you will, in the treaty. I have never received a phone call from any of the leaders in Europe because they know that they cannot do it. It's in the treaty."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:20:11

Personal Reflections and Future

"Yes, I'm Mrs. Crisis."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:20:34

"Always, yes. In times of crisis you can sort of go so deep and deep and deep and you sort of dig the hole in which you are burying yourself. And the sense of humour and the good love can just put things in perspective."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:20:45

"You know, I've seen presidents come and go. And I've seen them age and change. And it's past my bedtime."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:21:18

"I'm here and now. But the truth of the matter is that I've always taken risk. I've never sort of secured my position to make sure that the pension was there and that the comfort was guaranteed and that I was on an unlimited term. No. Sometimes you just have to jump."

— Christine Lagarde • 00:21:40