Carney: 'I have no political ambitions'

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney speaks during a press conference at the National Press Theatre in Ottawa on Wednesday, January 23, 2013. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Mark Carney is making it clear he has no political ambitions, telling a British parliamentary committee that his decision to take the top job at the Bank of England is proof of that.

The statement before his unofficial confirmation hearing in London was perhaps the most categorical disavowal of any political interest for now, or when he is expected to return to Canada in five years.

"I'm surprised it has been suggested that taking one of the most challenging jobs in central banking in another country would be politically advantageous in my home country," he told the Treasury Select committee Thursday morning.

"If I had political ambitions, I would have pursued them in Canada and so I think this is revealed preference. I do not have political ambitions."

In what appeared a shocking decision last fall, Carney was hand-picked by the U.K. chancellor George Osborne to take charge of the storied, 319-year-old institution on July 1, the first foreigner to ever do so.

But unlike in Canada, Carney at first needs to pass through the gauntlet of the U.K. Treasury Select Committee. Although the committee does not have veto powers over Carney's selection, it could still make it difficult for the government to proceed with the unconventional choice.