Zero inflation never low enough for the hawks
German owes a big thank-you to the rest of Europe. If the Bundesbank had been left to set rates alone, they would be way higher than needed.
First, Axel Weber had to have been the worst central banker over the past decade. He was highly influential when Trichet was in charge and a big reason why tight policy made the European crisis worse than it needed to be.
At one point he was the favourite to succeed Trichet.
Thankfully for Germans, and the rest of Europe, Draghi was put in charge and Weber was pushed out.
That didn't stop the German-led hawks at the ECB from fighting any efforts to boost inflation but Draghi has been able to find enough support for dovish policies to move them ahead.
For all the fretting about inflation at the Bundesbank, the latest data showed German prices up just 0.2% in the year ending in October and there are no signs anywhere of a quick pickup.
