German bankers increasingly isolated within the Euro zone
Arguments between German financial experts and bankers from the rest of the eurozone have apparently left Germany in an increasingly isolated position within the EU
According to news reports, German Central Bank President Jens Weidmann is completely isolated in the European Central Bank when it comes to his opposition to buying government bonds.
Italian ECB President Mario Draghi's plan to help Spain and Italy with new interventions appears to be the solution on which most agree, and experts say Weidmann has dwindling support in his opposition to such a plan. In addition, Weidmann can no longer rely on support from countries such as the Netherlands, who had reliably sided with the Germans on this issue in the past. A Dutch newspaper reported that the Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot does not oppose restarting the bond buying programme.
To isolate Weldman even further, even German ECB board member Joerg Asmussen said he supported Draghi's position. By the end of this week, Draghi is expected to reveal details of a new bond-buying plan that should help indebted eurozone countries who are dealing with uncommonly high interest rates.