(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank Governing Council member Robert Holzmann said he won’t seek a second term as head of the Austrian National Bank when his stint ends in August 2025.  

“It was clear to me five years ago that this is a job for six years and that I won’t seek a second term thereafter,” the central banker told Kronen Zeitung in an interview published on Saturday. “What matters is that we have achieved a lot in an intensive period of time.” 

Holzmann, 75, also told the Vienna-based newspaper that the ECB could start lowering interest rates sooner than the US Federal Reserve given Europe’s relatively slower economic growth. 

The Austrian, among the ECB’s most hawkish policymakers, repeated his view that the Governing Council should only decide on when to cut rates based on June forecasts, which will better reflect price and wage developments. 

“Lower wage agreements between workers and employers translate into weaker price developments, and that can allow us to achieve our long-term inflation goal of 2% faster,” Holzmann said. “And yes, then interest rates could fall earlier.” 

Holzmann said continued wage growth in the US meant he no longer maintained a prediction made in a Bloomberg Television interview in February that the ECB was unlikely to cut rates before the Fed. 

“That can now be the other way around,” Holzmann said. “The European economy is growing at a slower pace than the US. That could mean that our price dynamic weakens more.” 

Read more: Holzmann to Finish Austria Governor Term, No Decision Beyond 

The supervisory board of the Austrian National Bank last week posted all four positions on its Governing Board, including the governor’s role. The government decides on appointments based on recommendations by the oversight committee. 

The postings come ahead of Austria’s general election this fall. Officials aim to decide on candidates for all positions with mandates expiring within the next 17 months in order to avoid delays in the event of lengthy coalition negotiations.

(Updates with additional comments from fifth paragraph.)

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