ALLIANCE FO§ DEMOCRACY

Draghi wants more transparency

The head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, wants to make public the meeting reports of the ECB, claiming that will improve transparency. This is perhaps a good idea, but definitely not a good intention, because people like Mario Draghi have no good intentions. When they do something, they only do it because it serves their own interests.
After years of fiddling about, Mario Draghi has a problem over who will have the say in Europe. The Europeans, or at least the Germans, still believe that democracy prevails. Not so: We are rules by high finance.
People like Mr. Draghi, to whom democracy is rather irrelevant, but who does not want to be a bogey-man, because quarrels with the people are of no use to him, must preserve a certain appearance. His banner actually carries the words “Money destruction machine, which wants to control everything in Europe, and brings the people into impoverishment, for the benefit of rich and ever richer bankers”. This election slogan is on the one hand too long, and also unsuitable in terms of content, because it provokes resistance. Democracy sounds quite acceptable and is also shorter, as well as something that the Europeans know about, and even enjoy. So Draghi wants to publish meeting reports, which other world banks also do, in order not to appear antiquated, but rather young, dynamic and democratic. In roughly the same way as the ECB may in roundabout terms be called democratic, and as the Presidents of the respective national central banks (for Germany Mr. Weidmann as Bundesbank President) are ex-officio members of the ECB Council. Like his colleagues, Weidmann was also appointed by Angela Merkel, in accordance with the national laws promulgated by the democratically-elected parliaments (in Germany the Bundesrat – or in other words the state governments – also have a say). The ECB President (currently Mr. Draghi) and a certain number of other ECB directors are also appointed by the Council of the Euro Group – the heads of state and government, such as Mrs. Merkel, and also Mr. Hollande etc. And they occupy their seats because they have been democratically elected in their countries. Or so one might believe. And that is why Mr Draghi and Co. have some reference to democracy. In addition, the tasks of the ECB are legally prescribed and they in turn confirmed by parliaments.
From this point of view, there is no reason for indignation, some may now say. But there is good reason to be indignant, because the means by which the ECB is leading Europe into the poorhouse were made on the basis of legal findings which had not at all been created for such a body which can now confidently be referred to as a European government. To learn now how the powers that be are driving Europe to ruin, is only necessary in so far as it is always good to have proceedings documented. The ECB is therefore not bothered at all about creating transparency, but is simply documenting its abuse of power.