After the controversies involving the president of the ECB Christine Lagarde (which even forced the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella to intervene and extend a public correction) Gualtieri to the minister) and the subsequent clarifications on the exclusion of specific economic measures for Italy, new reassurances come from Frankfurt.
However, it is not the French economist who succeeded Mario Draghi who, according to many, expressed them yesterday has become the protagonist of a real gaffe saying that “the ECB is not here to close spreads” and doing stock markets crash (Piazza Affari almost -17%, the worst fall ever), but the chief economist of Frankfurt, Philip Lane.
In fact, Lane wrote on his blog (always on the ECB's official website) that the institution is actually “is ready to do more and intervene if necessary”, with all the tools "to ensure that the high spreads we see today, due to the acceleration of the Coronavirus, do not endanger the transmission of our monetary policy in all the countries of the Eurozone".
Also on the rate cut, which was expected yesterday but which Lagarde did not carry out, Lane specified "the Governing Council retains the option of future rate cuts if required by a tightening of financial conditions or a threat to our medium-term inflation target”.
Appeasing signals towards Italy also from the president of the EU commission Ursula Von der Leyen: "For Italy ample room for maneuver and maximum flexibility on the rules relating to state aid and in the framework of the Stability Pact. The flu epidemic is a gigantic shock, we must make sure it is as short as possible but the member countries must be encouraged to take all the necessary measures".
