Let me say this on a personal note. Without the United States of America, I would in all probably not be able to stand here before you today.

Freedom does not mean being free of something, but to be free to do something.

The real problem is that the financial base for our social security system is shrinking because the number of normal jobs is falling. In other words, we have to address the challenge of how to make employment, in the classic sense, attractive once again.

I am courageous at the decisive moment. But I need a good deal of start-up time, and I try to take as much as possible into consideration beforehand.

I want us to be able to preserve our level of prosperity. We must constantly remind ourselves that Germany has been eating into its capital. It is only through successful management that we can once again secure our foundation of prosperity and social security.

The land of unlimited opportunity was for me, for a long time, impossible to reach. The wall, barbed wire and the order to shoot at those who tried to leave limited my access to the free world.

I am thankful for the way I was raised, to be positive. Even when times have gotten rough I have always tried to look on the bright side. Even when I was put down, yelled at and made feel insignificant, I still thought things were alright. I did realize when enough is enough.