When Christine Lagarde on Thursday sets out the European Central Bank’s plans to end eight years of bond-buying and negative interest rates, she can count on the support of the vast majority of her fellow rate-setters.
Record-high inflation in the eurozone has left even the most dovish of the 25 members of the governing council supporting the need for higher borrowing costs in the coming months.
However, the president will be aware of the scale of the challenge facing the ECB, hoping to regain control of prices without tipping the economy into recession or triggering a bond market panic in the more vulnerable countries of southern Europe.