Editorial To Vima: Lagarde’s message of hope

Christine Lagarde has once again proven herself to be a worthy successor to Mario Draghi at the helm of the European Central Bank (ECB).

More than many political leaders she is aware of the critical nature of the situation created by the unprecedented epidemiological crisis and she has therefore boldly taken the necessary steps.

At yesterday’s meeting of its Governing Council, which many consider more crucial than the one in March, the ECB decided to hike the pandemic QE by 500mn euros and approved a nine-month extension of the programme through March, 2022.

The aim is to maintain the historic low in the cost of borrowing for both countries and businesses that have been hit hard by the pandemic.

The ECB’s signal was loud and clear and in line with the strategy carved out by Draghi in his effort to transcend another unprecedented but different crisis.

With Greece at the brink of bankruptcy in 2012, Draghi declared that the ECB was ready to do “whatever it takes” to back the euro.

The combination of the decisive stance of his successor as ECB president , the optimistic news on the SARS-CoV-2 vaccines front, and after a tortuous path yesterday’s agreement at the EU summit on the Union’s Recovery Fund permit one to harbour optimism as regards the aftermath of the crisis.