had and have to say was perhaps often predictable, but more often than not your saying it lent it weight and inspired confidence. moreover, what you once aptly said is absolutely true : “ man kann schone sonntagsreden halten. die entscheidungen fallen an werktagen. ” you are known to be a hard worker - some would even say a workaholic and you have tremendous “ ausdauer ”. you never get tired of putting your analysis and convictions across, as has again been demonstrated tonight. we owe you a great deal of gratitude. after august we central bankers will miss you as a colleague, although i believe we have internalised your basic principles. they will therefore still be around as if you are still present yourself. and should we tend to forget them, i am sure that ernst welteke will help me to remind other colleagues of them. sometimes, i wish that we could do the same as they do in the world of sport in the united states. there, when an outstanding player retires, in order to honour him the number he wears on the back of his shirt is never again used by another player. central bankers do not wear shirts with numbers on the back, but if we did, i am sure that we would withdraw your number. retirement is the natural end of one ’ s career, but it should not be overdramatised. people do matter - and you have certainly shown that - but institutions generally outlast them. in fact, that is what many people work for. luckily, i am convinced that this is the case in central banking. so, the institutions that you have worked to build will go on. meanwhile, as i look ahead to august, i know that while i will lose a colleague, i will still have the same friend. i know that is true for many of us here this evening. i should therefore like to close by simply expressing my thanks for your support over the years both as a colleague and a friend.

many countries in recent decades. making the euro a lasting success is of course an ongoing process and indeed, in line with the title of hans ’ speech, “ a permanent challenge and task ”. this task requires the input of many persons, firms and institutions. of course, the eurosystem is not the least important in this respect. this brings me to the second point made by hans on which i should like to focus. that is that, in the end, even the most independent central bank cannot guarantee the maintenance of price stability if no real support for this objective is given by fiscal policies, politicians, social partners, good academic analysis, the financial community as present here this evening and the public at large. although, technically speaking, an independent central bank is able to maintain price stability in the medium term, in the longer term the actual outcome would be radically different without the existence of what hans would call an entrenched stability culture. the importance of this cannot be overstated here in europe, where we have just introduced a new currency in eleven countries with different histories, cultures and backgrounds. establishing and maintaining a european culture of stability is of the utmost importance. this also explains why central bankers regularly express their views on other policies, be it fiscal policies or structural reforms. i have done so in the past and shall continue to do so in the future - as always, on a constructive basis and in recognition of the fact that the central bank does not decide on these policies, but only gives its advice. the german authorities have received a great deal of advice from hans over the past six years. perhaps they did not always like his advice - for instance when they wanted to revalue the stock of gold - but i am sure that they were not surprised that he gave it. they would have been really surprised, however, if the president of the deutsche bundesbank had not expressed his views. to help to establish and maintain a culture of stability is also one of the reasons why a central bank needs to be open and communicative. we at the ecb attach great importance to this principle and are making every effort to practise it. we are prepared to learn from experience and to adjust our line of thinking wherever and whenever it proves necessary. only the pope is infallible - central bankers are not. communication should not be unidirectional. we are willing to listen to others and to exchange information and views with them, while at the same time bearing in