the mandate in order to keep the euro, which led to a lot of protest in germany. ) and what do you think, will the majority be in favour of your plan? all members of the governing council of the ecb are fully committed to comply with our mandate. of course there are differences on how it should be done, but it isn ’ t as if we had an endless number of options. germany is the biggest lender of all the euro area countries, whilst italy and the united states are amongst those countries in the world with the largest debt. is that the reason for the differences, for the completely different opinions on monetary policy? it is a complex question better answered in an essay rather than in an interview. there are many reasons for these differences. some of them are cultural and find their roots in the different histories of economic thought. part of the explanation resides in the spectacular success that the bundesbank ’ s monetary policy had in the 70s. and another main reason is that such policy is the perfect complement to the fiscal discipline and the culture based on stability which are an integral part of the socio - economic foundations of this country. many germans fear, in particular, that the debtor countries will be unable to redeem their loans. the options available in such cases are indeed frightening : state bankruptcy, the national central banks continue to print money, loans are prolonged in perpetuity, debt that we are burdening future generations with... in our currency union, such fears and the ensuing pressure are actually a further stimulus for debtor countries to undertake the structural reforms needed for growth and eventually pay back their loans. but be it should be clear that a break - up of the union would not be in the interest of germany. which law states that all countries must remain in the euro area at any price? is there really “ no alternative ”, as angela merkel claims? “ no alternative ”? that has become a dictum in germany : in the discussions on whether to help greece or not, ms merkel said that she had “ no alternative ” but to save the euro. this remark also then gave rise to the name of the “ alternative fur deutschland ” movement. our countries wanted the euro as a fundamental step of a process that should lead to greater and more significant unity in europe. the euro is irreversible. bis central bankers ’ speeches what would be so bad about greece, a country where so many don ’ t want the euro, simply

changed. what has proved to be most disappointing to you about the capitalist system since your student days? well, quite a number of issues can be mentioned in this respect. one of the disappointments is the latest financial crisis. bis central bankers ’ speeches the crisis of 2008? yes, indeed. and then there is, how shall i put it, that predatory instability... what do you understand by predatory? you know the saying “ the winner takes it all. ” i do not regard that as being always right and proper especially in environments where social mobility is limited – often the winners who take it all are the same people. beyond any ethical consideration, this is bound to generate instability. and the 2008 crisis what does the former goldman sachs top manager say : couldn ’ t the experts have predicted it? yes, pretty much, though of course neither precisely nor in its devastating extent. it could have been foreseen a few years before it happened, and it was foreseen by some economists like bob shiller, the 2013 nobel prize winner, or ragu rajan, the current governor of the reserve bank of india. the protagonists themselves knew that things couldn ’ t go on like they were. the financial sector overshot the mark. there was a reduction in the quality of loans, just think of subprime lending in the us, in standards, checks, oversight of lending – there were enough signs. furthermore, in the early 2000s several rules which certainly would have been helpful in mitigating the crisis were revoked. since then, a lot has been done to reinforce those rules and regulations. do you sometimes think that you are the public person that in germany is the least understood? i think that ’ s true... whose fault is this lack of understanding : germany ’ s or mario draghi ’ s? my position is actually quite simple : we have the mandate to guarantee price stability. the ecb was established in the tradition of the bundesbank. but there is a big difference, as the ecb is not responsible for just one country, but 19. the instruments that it has to fulfil this mandate are different. that is, i would say, the message that some in germany must understand. the mandate hasn ’ t changed, but time and circumstances have. that ’ s important. and yes, you are probably right : some people do not want to understand me on that. people here in germany wonder how the countries that have not budget