On Thursday 25 October, the President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, took pains to find the words to reiterate the importance for the Eurozone countries of complying with the Stability and Growth Pact, whilst avoiding exacerbating market concern over the solidity of the Italian banks, against the backdrop of a quarrel between Rome and the EU over the draft Italian budget for 2019.
“The broad-based expansion calls for rebuilding fiscal buffers. This is particularly important in...