Replacing Mario Draghi as president of the European Central Bank may well be the most important task for Europe’s leaders this year. That doesn’t mean the most qualified and competent candidate will get the job.

Draghi emerges from eight years as the head of the ECB, having steered Europe’s economy through the dangers of recession and deflation with an unprecedented mix of controversial “unconventional policies”, from negative interest rates to a massive bond-buying programme. But he leaves before the ECB can claim mission accomplished, and before it has brought monetary policy back to normal.