Speaking about “The Grand Coalition - A success story” Dr. Heimsoeth pointed out that the Grand Coalition did “far better than critics expected.” For Germany, 2007 had been an exceptional year as “the airliner ‘Germany’ that is Europe´s largest economy has reached its cruising altitude again” and unemployment dropped significantly. The close German-American ties contributed materially to this outcome. At the same time German companies in the U.S. … contributed to economic growth in the US.: The total revenues of German companies operating in the U.S. were seven times the amount of the bilateral trade volume.

Moreover, he stated, that regarding the achievements within the field of climate protection the Grand Coalition did have a “vertical take-off.” Not least because Germany´s G8 summit at Heiligendamm was a success and could be seen as a kind of basis for the breakthrough “Bali Roadmap.” He stated, that Germany would remain “cutting-edge regarding climate protection.”

Nevertheless, the Consul General expressed, that there was of course still a lot to do and the social and economic reforms in Germany should not lose their momentum….

Speech by Dr. Heimsoeth