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“I would like to ask all of you who are here as the representatives of the business community” to recognise how democratic governments work and to “please take the long-drawn-out processes with a degree of acceptance”, Merkel said in a question-and-answer session after opening the forum yesterday in Davos.
Merkel’s comments underscore her shift in approach to taming the debt crisis, now in its third year, having ditched rhetoric about conducting a “battle” between markets and politicians. At the same time, Merkel rejected adding any new money to fight the crisis, and reiterated the need to curb debt and deficits while boosting competitiveness as the main thrust of her strategy to keep the 17-nation euro area together.
“Europe will become more attractive once we have conquered this crisis, and I’m absolutely convinced that we will be able to master this crisis”, she said. European leaders will discuss measures to raise competitiveness and create growth and jobs at their January 30 summit and again in March, she said.