It is hard to see a “political” ECB ever hiking interest rates

The appointment of Christine Lagarde a s head of the ECB undoubtedly heralds a “political” ECB, attentive to the concerns of heads of state and less governed by technical and economic expertise . This will probably result in the highly expansionary monetary policy remaining in place , since , without it : Many euro-zone countries would have a fiscal solvency problem; The incomes of indebted households and corporate profits would weaken significantly, leading to a sharp slowdown in growth, problems for governments and corporate bankruptcies; Euro-zone industry, which is already struggling, would be hit by a significant appreciation of the euro.