Whatever it takes

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Mario Draghi, 2012

Whatever it takes (dt. About Everything you need / whatever is necessary ) is a phrase on a speech by Mario Draghi , the former head of the European Central Bank (ECB), goes back and has since been used in different contexts. It has thus become a kind of political catchphrase to emphasize that in a crisis everything possible is done to contain it. In this context, the use of a (monetary policy) bazooka is also often mentioned , an expression that also goes back to Draghi.

Original expression and consequences

On July 26, 2012, Mario Draghi uttered the following words:

“Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough. "

“As part of our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever is necessary to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough. "

- Mario Draghi : Speech at the Global Investment Conference in London

The financial markets, unsettled by the euro crisis , then calmed down; this was also known as the Draghi effect . The unpacking of very large monetary policy instruments has since been known as the monetary policy bazooka .

Other uses

The phrase was picked up several times during the COVID-19 pandemic . For example, commented Markus Söder , Bavarian Prime Minister, at a press conference together with Angela Merkel on March 12, 2020:

"What was also very important today is the commitment from all of us: We will do everything that is necessary -" Whatever it takes "someone once said during the euro crisis -; The federal and state governments will do what is necessary, regardless of the form in which it develops. "

- Markus Söder : Press conference on the corona virus, March 12, 2020

Söder thus underlined the claim of the federal government and the state governments, for which he spoke, to do everything possible and necessary to contain the crisis.

Also Olaf Scholz , Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister, used the phrase or referred to them at a press conference together with Peter Altmaier , the Federal Minister of Economics:

“The Federal Government, I, the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, we have all decided together that we will do everything possible to ensure that we can master this crisis. We will use every means at our disposal to make sure that we can get through these difficult times with all our economic means and make sure that we get out of the situation well. [...] What we are doing here is first of all - I don't know if you can say that here - but this is the bazooka with which we are now doing what is necessary. "

- Olaf Scholz : Press conference on the corona virus, March 12, 2020

The press conference was described in the media as Scholz's personal "what-ever-it-takes moment" or as the federal government's "whatever it takes".

"That is a 'whatever it takes' of the federal government," said the chief economist of DekaBank , Ulrich Kater , about the announcements. Scholz also referred to Draghi with the memory of the bazooka , who had used a similar image back in 2012.

In the UK, Rishi Sunak , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , also spoke frequently about Draghi's whatever-it-takes.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte also used the expression.

In the US, Anthony Fauci , an immunologist , also used the term in connection with the corona crisis.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hauke ​​Friederichs: Annual Review 2012: "A modern bazooka is a threat" . In: The time . December 29, 2012, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed on March 16, 2020]).
  2. ↑ ECB's Draghi to the euro's rescue? In: YouTube . euronews , July 26, 2012, accessed on February 3, 2020 (English, short report including a video recording of Draghi's statement).
  3. ↑ Press conference by Chancellor Merkel, Prime Minister Söder and First Mayor Tschentscher
  4. ↑ Scholz 'personal "Whatever it takes" moment. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  5. ^ Press conference Olaf Scholz and Peter Altmeier
  6. ↑ tagesspiegel.de: Scholz 'personal "Whatever it takes" moment
  7. ↑ [1]
  8. ↑ süddeutsche.de: "Bazooka" against Corona: Federal government erects giant protective shield
  9. ↑ Alexander Mühlauer: "Whatever it takes". Retrieved March 16, 2020 .
  10. ↑ Italy Announces $ 28 Billion Plan to Cushion Virus-Hit Economy . In: Bloomberg.com . March 10, 2020 ( bloomberg.com [accessed March 16, 2020]).
  11. ↑ Fauci on possible lockdown: 'Whatever it takes' - CNN Video. Retrieved March 16, 2020 .