BERLIN, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Wolfgang Schaeuble, a veteran politician from Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), is slated to become finance minister when a new centre-right government takes power next week.
Below are some recent comments from Schaeuble, who served as interior minister for the past four years, on financial and economic policy:
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
'I fear the old mistakes that led to the crisis will be repeated again. Therefore, I think it is wrong if some people cheerily believe that worst has already passed and that we can happily carry on as before,' he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview published on June 26.
TAX CUTS
'Tax reform is only possible if there is room for relief. There is no such room available at the moment. We hope economic growth will gain us some room as quickly as possible. Of course, it is also true that tax relief could accelerate growth. That makes policy complicated,' he said in the Stuttgarter Zeitung interview.
'There is very little room for tax cuts and no one can say right now when the time will be right,' he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in comments published on May 10.
BUDGET POLICY
'We must be careful the national finances do not go to pieces because the problems are so big and expectations so high that policymakers are no longer able to agree on solid budgetary management,' he wrote in an editorial for daily Tagesspiegel published on Feb. 20.
FINANCIAL CRISIS RESPONSE
'There must be corrections. But we must not talk ourselves into a crisis of the (social market) system...The issue is not more or less of a role for the state, or more or less regulation, but simply better regulation that is suitable for the problems,' he wrote in an essay for Die Welt newspaper published on Oct. 24, 2008.
Keywords: GERMANY COALITION/SCHAEUBLE QUOTES (paul.carrel@reuters.com; +49 30 2888 5214; Reuters Messaging: rm://paul.carrel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Below are some recent comments from Schaeuble, who served as interior minister for the past four years, on financial and economic policy:
ECONOMIC RECOVERY
'I fear the old mistakes that led to the crisis will be repeated again. Therefore, I think it is wrong if some people cheerily believe that worst has already passed and that we can happily carry on as before,' he told the Stuttgarter Zeitung in an interview published on June 26.
TAX CUTS
'Tax reform is only possible if there is room for relief. There is no such room available at the moment. We hope economic growth will gain us some room as quickly as possible. Of course, it is also true that tax relief could accelerate growth. That makes policy complicated,' he said in the Stuttgarter Zeitung interview.
'There is very little room for tax cuts and no one can say right now when the time will be right,' he told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in comments published on May 10.
BUDGET POLICY
'We must be careful the national finances do not go to pieces because the problems are so big and expectations so high that policymakers are no longer able to agree on solid budgetary management,' he wrote in an editorial for daily Tagesspiegel published on Feb. 20.
FINANCIAL CRISIS RESPONSE
'There must be corrections. But we must not talk ourselves into a crisis of the (social market) system...The issue is not more or less of a role for the state, or more or less regulation, but simply better regulation that is suitable for the problems,' he wrote in an essay for Die Welt newspaper published on Oct. 24, 2008.
Keywords: GERMANY COALITION/SCHAEUBLE QUOTES (paul.carrel@reuters.com; +49 30 2888 5214; Reuters Messaging: rm://paul.carrel.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.