Weidmann: The founding fathers of the EU treaties evidently took a sceptical view of the political will, and it is precisely for this reason that they made the central bank independent in order to protect it from a lack of or a conflict of political will. But the central bank must use and maintain this protection.
Furthermore, it should be aware that this independence also requires it to respect and not overstep its own mandate. Mr Schlesinger’s examples show that what is politically desirable and what is economically prudent have often not matched up.