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Draghi Vs German public opinion (WSJ)

Last week, Draghi said the ECB would "do whatever it takes to preserve the euro." The comments were seen as a sign that the central bank was ready to intervene in debt markets massively buying vulnerable countries' bonds. That would be going against the Bundesbank, which considers that a violation of the charter's ban on central-bank financing public debt. Losing the confidence of the German public, who would welcome the return of the deutsche mark, the ECB could condemn the current configuration of the euro area.
WSJ:
"On paper, Mr. Draghi could overrule his German colleague because Mr. Weidmann has just one vote on the ECB's 23-member council. But boxing the Bundesbank into a corner could undermine Mr. Draghi's credibility in Europe's largest country and main financial backer. Of particular concern to the ECB president, such a move could undermine support for the euro among a key constituency, the German public.

"In the short to medium run, Mr. Draghi can afford to ignore" Mr. Weidmann, said Jörg Krämer, chief economist at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "In the long run, the central bank depends on support by the German public, and its views are formed by the skepticism of the Bundesbank." (...)

Conservatives in Germany, including some economists and lawmakers, are already expressing anger at the pragmatism of the ECB and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has signaled her support for Mr. Draghi's policies. So far, the chancellor has the wider German public on her side: Opinion polls show Germans have a high level of trust in her crisis management."
source: Showdown Looms for ECB, Germans | WSJ

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