Central Banker Lagarde Goes Off on Putin

Oct. 31, 2022 (EIRNS)—European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is under a lot of pressure these days. Interviewed on Ireland’s RTE “Late Late Show” on Oct. 28, she began to explain their Oct. 27 doubling of the key interest rate: “We do it because we are fighting inflation” that had “pretty much come about from nowhere.” Okay, give her a pass on years of “quantitative easing” out of thin air. She then offered that the economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic was just too fast. Curious. But, finally, she began to lock on: The underlying problem was the “energy crisis caused by Mr. Putin who has decided in an unjustifiable way to invade another country.”

Then, off to the races: “That’s what he [Putin] is trying to do, cause chaos and destroy as much of Europe as he can. This energy crisis is causing massive inflation which we have to defeat.... Anybody who is behaving in that way has to be driven by evil forces.” The “sick” Russian President is a “terrifying person.” She added that when she had met with him in the past, he was an “unbelievably super-briefed person” with “flashing, freezing eyes.”

Then it was over. Lagarde reflected that she’s “just a central banker,” and “shouldn’t be saying all these things.”