ECB’s Kocher: Must prevent inflation from running too high and becoming entrenched

Kocher's framing puts the emphasis on inflation persistence rather than growth weakness, even as he acknowledges the euro area economy has outperformed expectations and momentum has strengthened since the summer. That combination matters because it shifts the policy debate away from supporting a fragile economy and toward guarding against second-round price effects. The open question is whether this hawkish tone is echoed by other Governing Council members, since the ECB's stated meeting-by-meeting approach leaves the next move genuinely undecided.