Italy's finance minister keeps door open to Weidmann's ECB bid

[January 23, 2019]  DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) - Italy's finance minister kept the door open on Wednesday to the potential appointment of Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann as the next head of the European Central Bank, saying past stances shouldn't weigh on the decision.

Weidmann, one of the names in the race to replace Mario Draghi in November, has been critical of the ECB's 2.6 trillion euro ($2.95 trillion) bond-buying stimulus program and opposed a separate scheme allowing the central bank to help countries in distress.

He also criticized the economic policies of successive Italian governments.

"There's no point in focusing on past stances because the world evolves and players' ideas evolve with it," Giovanni Tria told Reuters in an interview.

(Reporting By Silvia Aloisi, Writing by Francesco Canepa

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