Berlin confirms it is pushing for Weidmann to get eight more years at Bundesbank

BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government on Wednesday confirmed reports that said it was pushing for an extension of Jens Weidmann's contract as president of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank, for another eight years.

Weidmann's first term expires at the end of April.

The extension would in theory keep Weidmann in the mix as a possible successor to ECB chief Mario Draghi, whose job will become available at the end of October, though Bank of France Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau is seen as frontrunner.

The Bundesbank said Weidmann was "a very passionate monetary policy maker and is looking forward to a second term".

A spokesman for the German government said: "The president of the Bundesbank has done a convincing and impressive job so it would be good if he could stay in office."

No serious discussion is likely on the Draghi succession until after the European Parliament elections this spring, when the ECB job is expected to be decided in a package that also includes the heads of the European Commission and Council.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold in Berlin and Frank Siebelt in Frankfurt; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Andrew Cawthorne)