Thursday October 29, 2009

Merkel sworn in, policy plans criticised

By Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel faced new criticism on Wednesday that she was not doing enough to bring Germany's widening deficit under control as she began her second term as German chancellor.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg point towards family members after taking their government seats during the meeting in Berlin, October 28, 2009. Merkel faced new criticism of her economic plans on Wednesday as she began her second term as German chancellor. (REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Merkel's new government, a coalition of her conservatives and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), unveiled a policy programme at the weekend which includes billions of euros in tax relief but fails to spell out how the cuts will be financed.

The plans have been welcomed by economists and some of Berlin's allies, but they have also been sharply criticised in the German media and by politicians here who say Merkel is not doing enough to tackle the rising deficit.

German President Horst Koehler, who swore in Merkel after she was formally elected by the lower house of parliament, warned her new government on Wednesday against "unrealistic growth hopes" and said the country must reduce its debt levels.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who as head of the Eurogroup chairs meetings of euro-zone finance ministers, suggested in the Wednesday edition of the Handelsblatt newspaper that Berlin was setting a bad example for the rest of Europe.

"In the coalition agreement, the consolidation elements are underdone and the expansive elements overemphasised," Juncker said. "If German finance policy loses solidarity, then the other EU states will take more freedom too."

Since the creation of the euro, Germany has acted as a guardian of responsible budget policies but Merkel has argued that fiscal consolidation must now take a back seat to pro-growth measures.

"SICK PATIENT"

Germany emerged from its deepest recession since World War Two in the second quarter of 2009 but faces new headwinds from a rising euro currency and an expected increase in unemployment.

Merkel is taking a calculated bet that tax cuts will help the economy recover, reducing the need for unpopular spending cuts to rein in the deficit, which is expected to rise to double EU limits next year.

"We need to focus on sustainable growth. The economy will contract by 5 percent this year and we need to get out of this lowpoint first," Merkel told ARD television in an interview.

"The patient is sick and the first order of business is making the patient healthy."

Earlier, Merkel, 55, was formally elected in the Bundestag, with 323 of the lower house's 622 members backing her.

The result was something of a setback as nine parliamentarians belonging to parties in her new coalition withheld their support.

Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor in 2005 and its first leader to have grown up in the former communist East.

After her full cabinet was sworn in by Koehler, Merkel presided over the first cabinet meeting of the new government before leaving for a dinner meeting in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Merkel said the two countries would step up cooperation in education, science and measures to stimulate economic growth. The two leaders also said they would agree common positions on most points before an EU summit which starts on Thursday.

They also said that Merkel would return to Paris on Nov 11 to attend the annual Armistice Day ceremony that commemorates the end of World War One and which Sarkozy wants to transform into a day to celebrate Franco-German friendship.

(Reporting by Noah Barkin and Madeline Chambers; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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