Policymakers risk being left like the cavalry in a spaghetti western, “surrounded, without any ammunition left” and should focus on restoring financial market confidence, a European Central Bank official said on Tuesday.

The comments by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, an ECB executive board member, highlighted the cautious stance adopted by the eurozone’s monetary authority and will strengthen expectations the ECB will not follow the Bank of England in announcing sharp cuts in official interest rates.