I would argue that there is no such thing as an independent central bank. In decoupling the central bank from the explicitly political process, you simply make it less accountable to all citizens are more explicitly accountable to the most powerful, those who own assets in the currency which a given central bank issues and manages.
But very much understood the popular view of the BUBA...er...ECB on the part of most Germans. Nil aon leigheas ar an ngra ach posadh
We like the constitutional court, the president, the central bank, the 'Kaiser' Franz Beckenbauer, the Bundestrainer,... All these jobs/people have one thing in common: Most people don't know how one gets this job. But nobody trusts the parliament or the government, they are mostly what they are because of elections.
The ECB is not accountable to anybody in a sense. It is a bit like the pope. It shall keep inflation low, but nobody really controls them. Of course keeping inflation low is helpful mostly for those who have assets. That's true. But it is so on purpose. And in the long run it is useful for those who intent to borrow, too, because real(!) interest payment is lower(, in theory). Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den MenschenVolker Pispers
