It’s very important to say that what I mean when I say ‘liberal’ is liberal in the 19th-century British sense. Pro-market, pro-individual, freedom, pro-openness. Not the American sense. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
I think Britain’s economy has done extremely well from having the influx of talented people from around the world and from having an influx of people from the rest of the European Union. It’s both evidence of how strong the British economy was – that’s what drew people in – but it’s also part of what’s making the British economy work. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
The former West Germany was a semi-sovereign political pygmy, protected by America’s military might and with barely any foreign policy of its own. As a result, the country has no machinery or tradition of strategic thinking, and most Germans are loth to see their government take the lead. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
German predominance is not all-encompassing. In foreign affairs and military matters, for instance, France and Britain still play a much bigger role. But across a large swathe of European policy, Germany has become much more than a first among equals. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
There are a lot of people who are moving from unemployment to disability rolls, and there are a lot of people who have been out of work for a long time who are unable to get jobs. And I think that from a long-term perspective, this is not just a human tragedy, but it’s going to be a potentially big hit on the economy in the future. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
The Franco-German tandem at the core of post-war European integration has become lopsided. Relations between Berlin and Paris are unusually poor, with some French politicians decrying the ‘selfish intransigence’ in the euro crisis of Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
France’s economy is stagnant, statist, and uncompetitive and urgently needs reform. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
Classic English liberalism of the sort that ‘The Economist’ was founded to champion and still espouses is about open societies and free markets. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
I’m a classic English liberal. A classical liberal, which is different to the modern interpretation of liberal in America. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
America should do more to fix the still-festering housing crisis and overhaul its training schemes so that high joblessness does not become entrenched. Hunkering down for austerity is not enough. The rich world needs a strategy for growth. Zanny Minton Beddoes Read Quote
