I don't believe you are simply born with the ambition of becoming chancellor. But if you want to make a difference, if you enjoy putting ideas into practice, then the post of chancellor has to be the one presenting the biggest opportunity of all.

It is a fact that, if I single out Germany, our rate of growth is too low and we have very high unemployment.

The substance of the constitution is preserved. That is a fact.

NATO needs to adapt its strategy to meet new challenges

If I run a time-limited test program, I'll never discover whether markets with additional employment truly exist. A solution in the low-wage sector cannot be a limited special program.

Global climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the twenty-first century.

Foreign policy that is obviously guided by interests, but that is very much also committed to shared values, so we have a platform, democracy, freedom, respect of human rights that we would like to see respected all over the world and also, a peaceful world order.