Something struck me as odd listening in to the presser. Draghi has been living off his “do whatever it takes” mantra for sometime now but one reporter in the Q&A asked a question that didn’t elicit a confident response from the magician.
The reporter asked (paraphrasing) whether the likely next move for the ECB was to tighten policy? Draghi replied that he could say something funny right then and make a joke his reply.
To me it’s a valid question. Maybe not in timescale terms but in terms of hearing some confidence about chucking €1tn at a very big problem. Instead of making light of the question I would have rather heard something more bullish, something with a bit more fight and gumption in it. Even a personal view that he hopes that the next policy move is tightening as that will mean policy is working and Europe is on the up.
Today’s rhetoric from Draghi wasn’t that this was another “save the eurozone” defining moment, a moment where Draghi could stand tall and puff out his chest. It was more a message that they are still firefighting and have no idea when they’ll get it under control.
That doesn’t fill me with confidence about the fortunes of QE and the future of Europe.
Where has Mr “save the eurozone” Draghi gone?
