Some were quick to claim victory.
“I am very pleased that the ECB addressed Polish concerns and adjusted the design of [the] new €20 bank note to reflect Marie Skłodowska-Curie’s Polish heritage,” exulted conservative MEP Janusz Lewandowski, speaking to POLITICO.
But the reality is somewhat more complex. For one thing, even the great woman herself had trouble making up her mind, signing herself as Skłodowska-Curie for much of her married life, but increasingly using the simplified “M. Curie” after Pierre’s death, especially in professional contexts.
Moreover, European cultural figures may not even feature on the banknotes if a rival design, featuring far less divisive motifs of birds and rivers, edge them out. More to the point, the ECB hasn’t officially settled on using Curie’s double-barreled name, and is speaking to her descendants, and the Institut Curie in Paris, to work out what is for the best.
“The ECB is consulting various sources to determine the most appropriate way to refer to her. If European culture is selected as the theme for the future design, a decision will be taken on how the names of all the selected personalities will be displayed on the banknotes,” an ECB spokesperson said. “For the time being, we will refer to her as Marie Curie (born Skłodowska) in order to acknowledge her dual identity.”
But if history is any judge, Warsaw will get its way.
A similar Polish rearguard action brought about the rebranding of the European Commission’s Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program in 2014, resulting — as the name implies — in a decisive Polish victory.
CORRECTION: The initial version of this article misstated when the next series of notes will be issued.
