Whether the same generosity will be extended to Ms. Lagarde, who attended the monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt but did not appear at the news conference, remains to be seen.

In September, the council cut the rate banks pay to park money at the central bank to minus 0.5 percent from minus 0.4 percent. The negative interest rate is essentially a penalty on lenders that hoard cash. The council also decided to resume purchases of government and corporate bonds, a way of pushing down market interest rates and making credit cheaper.

These decisions inspired an unusually open backlash from some members of the Governing Council, from countries including Germany and the Netherlands, who believe they were unnecessary and reckless.

Klaas Knot, the president of the Dutch central bank, said the measures were “disproportionate to the present economic conditions.”

“There are increasing signs of scarcity of low-risk assets, distorted pricing in financial markets and excessive risk-seeking behavior in the housing markets,” Mr. Knot said in a statement in September.

Until recently, the dissenters expressed their feelings discreetly, while Mr. Draghi insisted that key decisions by the central bank were backed by consensus. Unity is important to a central bank’s credibility and its ability to influence financial markets. That consensus was essential during the novel and extraordinary measures introduced on Mr. Draghi’s watch that were seen as having prevented the eurozone from collapse during a severe debt crisis that began in 2010.

Mr. Draghi argued Thursday that the crisis measures had worked, and he offered assurances that the central bank would keep a close eye on the potential risks. “The improvements in the economy have more than offset the negative side effect from low rates,” he said.