Financial Times
September 22, 2011
For Jean-Claude Trichet there will be no gentle wind-down before his retirement. The eurozone debt crisis has assumed a punishing intensity in recent months, stretching the skills of even veterans of financial market crises such as the European Central Bank president.
As he prepares to step down on October 31, the future of Europe’s monetary union remains unclear. Possibilities that even a few months appeared slim are no longer ruled out.
German politicians speculate openly about Greece defaulting or even leaving the eurozone. Financial markets fear a return of the paralysis that struck after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in late 2008.
Europe’s economic integration could also be thrown into reverse. Conveying the drama of the moment, Angela Merkel, German chancellor, warned the Bundestag this month that the euro was more than just a currency. “The euro is a guarantor of a united Europe, or put it another way: if the euro fails, Europe fails.”
For now, much lies in the hands of the ECB. With its theoretically unlimited firepower and ability to act rapidly, the ECB is the final backstop for the euro.
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