It was my mother, despite the limitations placed on women of her time by society, who insisted I be allowed to go abroad to study, in sturdy defiance of the male elders of the family, who protested and decided that I should be married off instead.

Women have more inner power for creation, starting from family and home and ending with professional activity and politics.

Some countries need extra stimulus in specific areas. Something has to be done against high youth unemployment in Greece and Spain, for example. But in the end, there is no way around it: The debt levels have to come down.

Women always look for a peaceful solution to a conflict. They are more sensible when they go for compromise or when they stand by their position. They are ready to listen to different views, to hear all the voices in society.

Hard work, courage and commitment - these are the key elements for success.

My climb to political success was no elevator ride, and it has not always been pretty, but I persevered as one of a handful of women in the male-dominated world of politics.

While I am a lawyer by profession and have travelled to several countries, working and educating myself, I came from a rural background in a Third World country at a time when women were told what their place was and whose mothers enjoyed even less.