It calls for an incomes agreement between workers and employers under which everyone emerges better off in the medium-term, although everyone must take a hit in the short term. The widespread use of automatic indexation clauses in public expenditure must also be avoided. In a climate as uncertain as the current one, an agreement of this nature would provide a very valuable dose of stability and certainty, allowing the duration and costs of the current inflationary shock to be kept to a minimum and paving the way for the necessary economic adjustment, generating more jobs and improving the welfare of the general public. The performance of our economy in the coming years in large part rests on our ability to reach these difficult agreements. 10
You have provided exemplary leadership, driving progress on improving the functioning of payments systems and broader financial market infrastructure, both within the euro area and internationally. If anyone has prepared us to withstand the coming deluge, it’s you. Whether my remarks leave you seeing the world’s glass as half full or half empty, I’d ask you to charge yours now to toast, Benoît Cœure. 9  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/news/speeches  9