Europe’s politicians have long expressed ambivalence about the virtues of financial markets. But this week they turned up their scepticism to near-maximum volume.

Reflecting a sharp leftward lurch in Germany’s political discourse, Horst Köhler, the president, demonised global financial markets as a “monster” that must be put back in its place. He compared modern bankers to medieval alchemists, saying they were responsible for the “massive destruction of assets”.