Merkel finally gives nod to Draghi

"Welcome, Mister President!" headlines Handelsblatt in the wake of the definitive “yes” voiced by Angela Merkel for the appointment of Mario Draghi - currently governor of the Bank of Italy - to the presidency of the European Central Bank (ECB) next October. Wrong-footed by the withdrawal of "her" candidate, Bundesbank chief Axel Weber, the German Chancellor has been slow to react, remarks the Düsseldorf business daily. "With the euro crisis in full swing, she felt that she would be unable to impose a banker from a state identified with inflation and public debt on the German people," writes Handelsblatt. However, the newspaper also points out that Draghi passes for a proponent of stability, and as an Italian he will have experience required to keep southern member states on the road to stability. "The appointment of Draghi is not enough to guarantee the future of the euro. However, the chances of a return to stability have increased: Mario Draghi is the right man at the right time," concludes the German newspaper. Its Italian counterpart La Stampa notes that "Draghi has been invited to sit on a hot seat, at the worst moment in the history of the euro, and at a time of widespread confusion in financial markets. The most urgent and difficult task facing the ECB president will be to avoid a restructuring of Greek debt on the one hand, while guiding the Greek economy — within a reasonable time frame — back to a point where it will be able to settle its debts on the other. Similar policies will have to be established for Ireland and Portugal, which are also caught in the grip of ‘financial malaise’".