Protester proves where there's a will there's a way

Josephine Witt being carried away by security after surprising ECB president Mario Draghi. Photo / AP

A protester yesterday jumped at European Central Bank president Mario Draghi during a press conference raising an interesting question: How did she get so close?

Accessing the Frankfurt headquarters for Draghi's briefing on the ECB's monetary-policy meeting requires reporters to pre-register, present identification - twice - and pass an airport-style security check. Yet Josephine Witt not only reached the media centre, she evaded bodyguards to scatter paper on Draghi and shout her slogan: "End ECB dictatorship."

"It was very easy," the 21-year-old said. "There's this airport-control thing, but I didn't carry any weapons except for confetti in my bag. I registered for access beforehand, and they just checked the name and then I got inside."

An ECB spokesman said that nobody under the name of Josephine Witt registered for the press conference. Witt said she didn't use that name to sign up.

While the ECB chief was unhurt and the press conference only adjourned for a couple of minutes, the episode highlighted the risks from the central bank's unwanted role as a lightning rod for social discontent. The inauguration of its new 1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) building last month drew thousands of demonstrators from across Europe who clashed with police.

The disruption revealed that security flaws remain even after the ECB beefed up protection when moving to its site in the city's east end. Concrete barriers and fences fringe the complex, and visitors must check into a security building 50m across a square from the main entrance. Still, the accreditation procedure has barely changed in years.

Witt sat alone in the front row of the press conference, just in front of Draghi, before jumping on his desk. He threw up his hands and moved away as security staff dragged her out of the room. Witt said she was arrested and held in custody for more than two hours.

Yesterday's disturbance wasn't the first. A monetary-policy meeting in Naples last year prompted mass protests. In February, Draghi was heckled by a European Parliament legislator in Brussels and by a journalist at a press conference in Nicosia the following month.

Amid the March protests in Frankfurt, he acknowledged that his institution is attracting blame for an economic crisis in the 19-nation bloc that has squeezed livelihoods.

"The ECB has become a focal point for those frustrated with this situation," he said. "This may not be a fair charge - our action has been aimed precisely at cushioning the shocks suffered by the economy. But as the central bank of the whole euro area, we must listen very carefully to what all our citizens are saying."