Power Women - Angela Merkel
One of the few leaders who dares to be different, Angela Merkel exhorted world leaders at the recent G 20 meet in Toronto to trim budgetary deficits, even though the U.S. believed that cutting back on spending could result in double dip recession.
A few weeks before the G20 meet the German chancellor after banning naked shorts of Government bonds, had reminded world leaders to step up the financial reforms at a Berlin Conference “People are asking, what powers do you politicians still have?
"The Group of 20 nations agreed every product, every actor and every financial center must in future be regulated,” she said. “That’s what we promised the people. …. Now, one-and-a-half or two years later, people are asking what happened? At some point we have to deliver.”
As a leader who literally stamps her authority on the German economy, Merkel is credited with turning around the recessionary trends with solid growth in the strong manufacturing sector that Germany has been always famous for.
As per the Federal Statistic Office Destatis, German exports in May 2010 rose by a whopping 28.8% on a year to year basis over May 2009 to touch $98 billion raising the months trade surplus to $13 billion.
Though this explains President Obama’s discomfort with Merkel’s monetary policy, he would be relieved to know that this has happened because Germany which had a trade deficit with China during the previous years has reversed the position and now has a trade surplus with the world’s largest exporter.
China has been key nation for co-operation and growth for the German Chancellor who has paid four visits to the country since her coming to power in 2005.
As a result of such strong networking Germany’s export to China rose by 7% last year as against an overall decline of 18% and the trade between the two nations exceeded $105 billion, more than a quarter of China’s overall trade with Europe.
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