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Mario Draghi, the president of the ECB leaves

In Today's Economy: Portrait, we talk about Mario Draghi. The outgoing president of the European Central Bank held on Thursday in Frankfurt his last press conference. He must be able to pass the witness to Christine Lagarde on November 1st. The opportunity to focus on the one that the press nicknamed "Super Mario".

Italian, but with a pragmatism to the American, he is above all the man who saved the euro. The boss of the ECB leaves and leaves a modernized institution, able to resist speculation. But an institution that is also out of breath facing the deflationary threat and sluggish growth.

With a proud look and a discreet smile, Mario Draghi is a busy man who does not like long speeches. Refusing to evaluate these eight years of monetary policy , which he leaves " to historians ", the boss of the ECB did not want to confess either satisfaction or regret on a particular measure. However, " if there is one thing that I am proud of, it is the way in which the Board of Governors and I have consistently pursued our mandate. In a way, it's part of our heritage : never give up, "he said in the form of a message of goodbye.

Family legacy

Son of a banker and a pharmacist, Mario Draghi knows how to talk to markets, while keeping a foot in the real economy. Born in Rome 72 years ago, the young Mario studied economics and commerce, before obtaining his doctorate in the United States. University professor, he entered the Italian Treasury at a crucial moment for his country: in the early 1990s, Italy is on the brink of bankruptcy. Privatization of public companies, devaluation of the lira, cuts in expenses ... Nicknamed the "Father Rigor" , Mario does the housework. Structural reforms, which he will continue to claim later as head of the ECB with its European partners.

Meanwhile Mario Draghi joins the American business bank Goldman Sachs. A turning point in his career that will earn him many critics. At the time, the bank helped Greece to disguise its abyss deficit. According to Patrice Gautry, chief economist at the Private Banking Union in Geneva, " at that time there were many former Goldman Sachs people who were in financial institutions, in governments, or had other public responsibilities. or semi-public. So, that was I would say the overall criticism of the weight that the financial economy could have on the real economy and the decision-making process. "

After this passage across the Atlantic, Mario Draghi returns to the country, where he takes control of the Bank of Italy. And it is as president of the Financial Stability Forum set up by the G7, then expanded to the G20, that it acquires international recognition. His appointment at the head of the European Central Bank in 2011, is reluctant on the part of the Germans and the Nordic countries, who doubt that an Italian knows how to hold the purse strings.

And the crisis of the eurozone bursts a year later ...

In 2012, it is the crisis of the euro zone. Financial markets are becoming wary, countries can not borrow to finance their debts. The contagion starts from Greece and spreads over Portugal, Italy and Spain. The euro is threatened. And this is where "Super Mario" comes in. Patrice Gautry highlights the role of financial intermediary played by the ECB:

" The personal contribution of Mario Draghi has been to revive the credit machine. Ensure that the supply of credit is available again for businesses and households. This was the famous episode of so-called quantitative easing. The Central Bank buys both private loans and public bonds to revive the credit machine. It was done in several stages. And that was completely new in the history of a central bank and the European Central Bank. "

Has the ECB changed under the reign of Mario Draghi ?

Yes, she has changed. Christine Lagarde now has at her disposal a number of tools to intervene in case of need. Knowing that crises follow each other, but are not alike. Mario Draghi has failed to bring inflation in Europe to 2%, the level supposed to ensure good health in the economy. But the ECB can not act alone. However, one of the reforms undertaken to protect the euro area, the Banking Union, is still far from being achieved.