The ECB's Mario Draghi undoubtedly shares this view. He told an audience of very suspicious officials in Berlin two weeks ago that the bank had been forced to cut rates to a record low of 0.25pc to ensure a “safety margin against deflationary risks”, although everybody in the room knew that the two German ECB members had voted against it. He also warned that if inflation is allowed drift too low it becomes "much harder" for the Club Med states to claw back competitiveness under internal devaluations. "Adjustment runs into major head winds as demand suffers and real debt burdens rise,” he said.