Greeted with initial fanfare by investors and economic officials, the unlimited bond-buying plan that the European Central Bank president, Mario Draghi, announced Thursday ran into immediate political problems in the crucial countries of Germany, Spain and Italy.<\/p>\n
In Germany, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel\u2019s support for Mr. Draghi and the independence of the Central Bank, political and news media reaction was scathing, with accusations that the bank, in seeking to stabilize the euro currency union, was subverting its mandate to fight inflation and forcing debt upon euro zone members.<\/p>\n
\u201cA Black Day for the Euro,\u201d\u009d \u201cOver the Red Line\u201d\u009d and \u201cPandora\u2019s Box Opened Forever\u201d\u009d were some of the German headlines, with the normally sympathetic S\u00c3\u00bcddeutsche Zeitung headlining an editorial: \u201cThe E.C.B. Rewards Mismanagement.\u201d\u009d Even the German Bundesbank, officially part of the European Central Bank, put out a statement commenting acidly that the plan was \u201cfinancing governments by printing bank notes.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n