I have stressed that we have to embark on reforms that make the crisis countries more competitive; that we have to reduce public debt and that we have to further improve the institutional framework of monetary union. But the spirit of my argument was expressed succinctly some 20 years ago by Karl Otto Pöhl.
In his speech at the Economic Club he said: “The true function of a central bank must be, however, to take a longer-term view.” And after five years of crisis, the long term might catch up with us faster than we expect. We therefore have to think about the future now – and we have to act accordingly as well.