The turning-point in the euro crisis came when the European Central Bank (ECB) pledged in September 2012 to make if necessary unlimited purchases of government bonds) for countries under siege in the markets, a doctrine it christened “Outright Monetary Transactions” (OMT). The policy gave teeth to Mario Draghi’s earlier “do-whatever-it-takes” vow to save the euro. The bond-purchase pledge proved so successful in routing the bond vigilantes that it has remained on the shelf as a deterrent rather than being fired in anger.
