Draghi in Battle Mode on Day One as Debt Crisis Torments ECB

Jean-Claude Trichet had almost four years to settle into the role of European Central Bank president before being thrown into crisis-fighting mode. Mario Draghi goes to battle on day one. Draghi, who succeeds Trichet tomorrow, becomes chief guardian of the euro with its 17-nation economy facing the risk of recession, a victim of the two-year-old sovereign debt crisis politicians are struggling to fix. As ECB president, he will be the second most powerful central banker in the world after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, and a key figure in the struggle to restore investor confidence in Europe’s monetary union. “This will be a baptism of fire for Draghi,” said Nick Kounis, head of macro research at ABN Amro Bank NV in Amsterdam. “It is challenging to be ECB president in any environment, let alone in the midst of a serious crisis.” Pacific Investment Management Co. Chief Executive Officer Mohamed El-Erian says the euro area has to shrink to survive, while Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman said on Oct. 27 that the ECB will ultimately have to print more money to master the debt crisis.

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