AP Photo

Maybe today’s Napoleons are the central bankers, the only ones who seem to have the will and the power to plan their moves and to fight on the financial battleground of the Eurozone – in place of, and in spite of, national governments. The decision of Mario Draghi and of the other central bankers (with the exception of Germany) to buy bonds of countries with high spreads in the secondary market is a demonstration that daring decisions are still possible. But it illustrates that politicians and governments are more witnesses than active players. It also demonstrates that a single centralized institution is more powerful and credible – in Europe and outside Europe – than any agreement resulting from the dance among two, or four, or twenty-seven countries.