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ECB Contender Rehn Echoes Draghi Playbook With ‘Gotta Do’ Tweet

ECB Contender Rehn Echoes Draghi Playbook With ‘Gotta Do’ Tweet

(Bloomberg) -- European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said his successor will also have to do whatever it takes to save the euro and Olli Rehn appears ready to pick up the mantle.

In a tweet on Friday, the Bank of Finland bank governor said the ECB “gotta do what’s gotta do, as needed” and that the resumption of quantitative easing and keeping rates lower for longer are both in the central bank’s arsenal. Rehn is a contender to replace Draghi in November.

In what looks like a final salvo of his eight-year term, Draghi signaled on Thursday that the ECB was ready to cut interest rates if needed and had “considerable headroom” to start buying bonds again. For now, the Governing Council prolonged its pledge not to raise borrowing costs and announced the terms of new bank loans -- largely failing to impress investors.

European political leaders are still hashing out who will succeed Draghi, who’s ‘whatever it takes speech’ in 2012 has been credited with saving the euro, and the discussion appear likely to come down to the wire.

Rehn, who is also a former European Commissioner for Monetary and Economic Affairs, has made a review of the central bank’s policy framework a key theme of his informal campaign. His candidacy faces a challenge from Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann, who has opposed Draghi’s more-radical strategies. Other front-runners include French central bank Governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau, Executive Board member Benoit Coeure and Dutch central banker Klaas Knot.

To contact the reporter on this story: Piotr Skolimowski in Frankfurt at pskolimowski@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net

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