Angela MERKEL is the first woman Chancellor in Germany’s history. The CDU-CSU and the SPD succeeded in agreeing to work towards resolving the problems caused by the electoral results which gave neither of them a majority in the Bundestag. The Bundestag naturally ratified this agreement.
We must welcome this result. Germany is the biggest country in the European Union, France’s main partner. It could no longer remain in a state of uncertainty.
We must also welcome the accession of a woman to the most eminent function of the Federal Republic.
This government will undertake a rigorous policy and will continue the reforms that are already underway; it is determined to boost the main economy of the Euro Zone. Let us hope that this will provide the opportunity to rise to the challenge, together, of adapting our economies to new global competition. A renewed Franco-German initiative that is obviously open to other partners will have the advantage of providing a positive climate for the European economy of which we are the heart and motor. This is surely the chance to table this proposal in spite of our political commitments. The French government would surely encounter an attentive partner; other partners are also expecting to join us.
The issue is not only about rigour but also about the return of economic growth that should allow us to fight more effectively against unemployment. The reduction of our debts, the control of government finance, the liberalisation of the energy markets and the elimination of a number of obstacles in our society are now increasingly an absolute necessity in the face of the acceleration in the pace of change in the world.
