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ECB Gives Draghi Warm Farewell After Weeks of Policy Quarrels

ECB Gives Draghi Warm Farewell After Weeks of Policy Quarrels

(Bloomberg) -- In the end, Mario Draghi’s final meeting as president of the European Central Bank turned out to be harmonious as the Governing Council put aside differences that had caused an unprecedented public spat.

The long goodbye for the Italian included a laudatory speech by Portuguese central bank chief Carlos Costa over dinner, the traditional gift of a map, a round of thanks from governors and a last bout of wholehearted applause, according to officials with knowledge of the matter. They declined to be identified, because the meetings are private.

That tone contrasted with the acrimony of recent weeks after Draghi bulldozed a stimulus package that included a resumption of quantitative easing, against the opposition of governors from countries making up the heart of the euro region.

The shift in sentiment toward making up probably took place at the International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington last week. That’s previously been a venue where squabbles between European officials have dissipated toward a more united front as they deal with their overseas counterparts.

Here’s more detail on how the 25-member Governing Council sought to mark the retirement of the third president in the ECB’s history, after a tumultuous eight years in office.

Dinner Party

Usually, the three-course dinners served on the 40th floor of the ECB’s north tower on the Wednesday before policy meetings are a rather relaxed affair, where officials take the opportunity to discuss matters not immediately relevant to the upcoming decisions. Things got a bit more formal this time around.

As longest-serving member of the group, it fell to Costa to deliver a speech that -- unsurprisingly -- centered on Draghi’s legacy of strengthening the foundations of Europe’s single currency and ensuring that the euro survived.

“Mario’s contribution to this outcome cannot be overemphasized,” said Costa, who joined the Governing Council in 2010. “Mario has had the courage to search for solutions that tested the limits of our common mandate, while being open and flexible on how to achieve it,” he went on. “In brief, you were always ahead of the curve. What better definition could we have of a true leader?”

Antique Map

It’s custom at the ECB that departing Governing Council members are presented with an antique map. The president is no exception.

Draghi’s specimen is one by Johannes Covens and Cornelius Mortier titled “L’Europe dressée sur les Observations de L’Académie Royale des Sciences” from 1730. It’s similar to the one he’s had in his office over the past eight years.

Round of Applause

Governors took time during their interventions Thursday morning to thank Draghi individually for his contributions to saving the euro. The meeting -- just like the press conference that followed -- ended in a round of applause.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jana Randow in Frankfurt at jrandow@bloomberg.net;Craig Stirling in Frankfurt at cstirling1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Simon Kennedy at skennedy4@bloomberg.net;Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net

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