britain's market interest rate. and that is a hugely stimulating thing for the british economy, and i think we have not put in place a figures call plan we would not have seen that fall in traits. indeed countries like spain here in the european continent have found that their interest rates are virtually higher than they were earlier this year. so we can see countries have had concerns about fiscal sustainability have not been able to keep their interest rates as low as they would like. wen britain through an independent central bank have been able to do that. and i think having a low interest rate is the most stimulating thing you can do for the economy in a situation like this. >> what exactly are you going to recommend on october 20th. >> what is going to be the specificity of the osborne plan? >> well, what october 20th is all about is setting out the details of the public expenditure cuts that i provided the envelope-of-in the budget i presented to the country in june. so in june, i said, that they needed it t

you know britain doesn't respond we could reduce even in one nine hundred thirty nine britain puts war two divisions on the continent of europe in terms of actual continental commitment britain isn't serious even in one hundred forty. it's the results that matter but they lack the will ok bill i want to jump you go ahead you want to jump into this mix we're going to go ahead. i'd like to i like to jump good to see a few words about soviet foreign policy in the one nine hundred thirty s. let's not forget that in one nine hundred thirty four stalin executes an about face in soviet foreign policy up to about time the soviet union had been on very close terms with germany and after hitler comes to power stalin inaugurate the so-called popular front policy he brings his country into the league of nations which had been shunned shining before he orders the communist parties in western europe to vote in favor of rearmament and in one hundred thirty five he signed a military alliance with france so you have the two countries on each side of germany now in a military alliance and he is doing wh

and i think britain is those things. and we encourage our continental partners to do even more. >> rose: speaking of your continental partners, if you look at greece and the debt crisis there, has that passed us? >> well, i think we have obviously done less-- it is less volatile than it was this spring. but the-- looking forward, in order to avoid a return of market concern about sovereign debt issues, countries have got to announce fiscal plans, credible fiscal plans to reduce the deficit and have got to implement them. and that is what we're doing in the united kingdom. so i think you would see a return of volatility and a return of concerns about sovereign debt issues if countries backed off the fiscal programs that they have committed to publicly. so that's the challenge now i'm very well aware in the job i occupy it is one thing to announce the plan. >> but is it possible do you think that the government that you are a central part of becomes a laboratory, that the world will watch and see can a government programic

it can seem streamlined and proactive compared to britain. godwin once you know why it be uk does not have won a multi- functional agency like his. >> [unintelligible] where else in the uk or their agencies doing the same thing? -- are there agency is doing the same thing? >> the former invisible child simply hopes the system will not lose sight of future young immigrants from west africa. >> it is much better to protect them earlier. >> what no one wants is children like these to swap one brutal reality for another, 3,000 miles away. >> and that is all for this week. from all of us here, goodbye. >> hello and welcome. >> see the news unfold. get the top stories from around the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its fin

it was just mentioned great britain really disengaged from the continent and focused on the defense of the empire so that basically left france as the guarantor of the versailles settlement in france simply did not have the wherewithal did not have the military power did not have the economic power to enforce a settlement and so that meant that from the very beginning really germany began to evade the restrictions that was placed upon it by the british size system that france was unable to prevent that from happening so i mean frank should we be surprised that this pact happened because of munich in one thousand thirty eight after all the same powers that created the international system betrayed it i think that's in the. lake or now there was an opportunity. granted it was an opportunity i think in one nine hundred thirty eight to have prevented the war because at that stage germany's armaments were not strong enough at that stage to wage a war on two fronts we now know from recent german sources that in fact the german army was not even prepared for a long war against france in one n

he was part of the pope's entourage to britain. now, just hours before pope benedict's plane lands, the cardinal has made provocative comments about britain's christian identity and culture. in the german magazine "focus," he said england is a secular and pluralistic country. when you land at heathrow airport you sometimes think you landed at the third world country. when asked are christians in england discriminated against, he said an aggressive neo-'80s and is widespread. if you wear a cross at british airways, you are discriminated against. it is not known whether the pope has been told about the cardinals views. some catholic commentators have expressed their unease. >> they concern me because some of them, such as this about be a discriminates against anybody who flies with them and where's the crucifix, is obviously a distortion of a news story from some time ago. it does make me wonder what people talk about in the vatican about britain. >> the vatican has concerned the cardinal will not be joining the pope on his trip to b

he lives in britain where he has political asylum. following the latest developments on our joins us live. that we've seen this before we. have troubles abroad despite having an arrest warrant chasing him if you think it's realistic to think the polish authorities are really going to detain him. already it's a very good question a very complicated question because of course right now and nobody knows even if he is in poland or whether he's planning. on arriving in poland that is information that so far has only been published by one source polish t.v. channel t.v. and twenty four and they're citing unnamed sources as. basically backing up this information but even if he is in poland and even if the police do detain him it's still a very complicated procedure boardings the polish prosecutors they can not only on the police to make their arrests they can only remind them of the fact that there is an outstanding interpol arrest warrant for mr is up higher and then if they do detain him it will then take a number of time before he can be

now, a test in britain might dramatically quicken the contest. it works by spotting a signature that researchers believe is common to all strains. it can offer diagnoses while you wait. >> most people are waiting for test results. to reduce that time where they can actually literally wait for an hour so and then they told the results can be given treatment. >> the test is not the only one around. a rival device has been developed by a california-based company. they say their automated machine can detect tuberculosis in two hours. these new diagnostic tools are coming at a time when tuberculosis is on the rise of the west and new tools are being developed to combat the disease as it takes before will once more, even though the number of infectious cases remains relatively small -- just over 9000 last year. in other parts, it remains widespread and deadly. >> finally, anyone worldwide who takes to a board already knows the surfing can be a kind of therapy, even if you do not give it that name. in britain, the national health service is looking at f

what do you think britain who spin the so reluctant to extradite individuals. well the whole boils down to the same thing rory the fact that mr zakayev and many others who've left russia for the united kingdom have been granted political asylum therefore in the united kingdom they are believed to be persecuted and of victims all of the political situation here in the country among them is what is a very notorious figure also a recent. man who to move to leave russia for the shores of great britain is mr chalabi again and all of those have been granted political asylum despite the fact that they have been found guilty here in russia on numerous charges for money laundering to abuse of power and many other things but despite all this britain continues to say. those are victims of political games that they are law abiding citizens within the territory of the united kingdom and therefore the agreement that exists between moscow and london about exchanging prisoners to have our prisoners or suspected. log wrongdoers basically is no envoy because they have been grant

some of it is just britain messed up. they inherited a fiscal deficit which is much worse than other people. america can get away with having its deficit for a bit longer. but sooner or later america is going to have to face this. you look at the midterms. this is the great unacknowledged question. obama has not come up with any kind of sensible medium-term plan to bring down the deficit. and to be honest, the republicans haven't either. they've made a half effort. they're sitting there and saying "we have to cut taxes. requests that's not a realistic way to do it. it's got to be something bigger an cleverer than that. it may be that part of it here they've had to raise taxes as well just to try and balance things. america's got to do... at some time has to deal with entitlements. >> rose: tell me where you think france is and where the sarkozy government is. >> sarkozy is a great disappointment. we endorsed sarkozy and sarkozy very much said "here i am, i'm not the normal french president, i'm not the norman an ark, i'm

we will change britain. thank you very much. >> he got that make that speech for having the ruthlessness to take on his own big brother. today, he's proved ruthless enough. whether it's iraq the failure to regulate the banks or mass immigration. to claim he's the leader the new generation. the leader praised his brother. probably will have left front line politics by this time tomorrow. >> i thought his qualities came through well. >> your view about your future >> does it change your view about your future? >> no. nothing to do with me. this is ed's day. nothing to do with me today >> so is now his. next challenge, the country. nate robbins. bbc news. manchester. >> this is bbc news. why this could revolutionize heart surgery >> now, the labor party. by ed miliband's decision to invade iraq was wrong. jamess landel reports. >> is this a man leaving front line politics? david mili band left britain today. once again spilled out into the open. harry alone applauded. so what did ed miliband think about his bro

the threat level in great britain has gone up from moderate to substantial. the home secretary said the change was being made public in the interest of transparency and to encourage people to remain vigilant. the head of mi-5, jonathan evans, said last week dissident republican groups posed a real and rising security challenge, saying we were giving insufficient with it to history. the position of i.r.a. used to attack the u.k. mainland. now history could repeat itself. >> they have been using this in game plans as a provisional i.r.a. there's nothing gnaw. they can't think any new ideas. so anything that was done in the past, you could be sure that they'll try and duplicate that. >> but the threat isn't the same. they don't have the same amount of weapons or explosives as the i.r.a. used to have. >> the threat from the republicans is a serious one but nothing like the ones in the past. it's something that provides the possibility of occasional lethal attack, rather than sustained campaign on the mainland, but it's something which people in the government and

britain's special envoy to afghanistan has stepped down from his position amid speculation he was forced out. who advocated open dialogue with the taliban was a strong critic of the u.s. . next here on our team on the show the u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton claims that the world is counting on the u.s. to discuss whether the idea of american exceptionalism has any global backing. welcome the ilona show where we get the real headlines and none of the mercy or could be live out of washington d.c. and today secretary of state hillary clinton addressed the council on foreign relations there she praised the obama administration's progress on foreign policy and called for a new century of u.s. global leadership but is this exceptional grade really an accurate analysis at a time when anti-american protests are happening more often we'll have a debate on the real status of u.s. foreign policy then we'll look into the extradition treaty between the u.s. and the u.k. domestic pressures have led the u.k. to rethink this treaty since many think that it gives american unfair advantage so we'

hold our nerve, and we will change britain for dead. -- for good. [applause] just think of what we have done already. we have changed the injustice of the rich paying less on their investments and then the poor do on their wages. we have rolled back a generation of liberal and intrusive legislation. , the banksar's day will pay a new levy that will help fill the black hole of they helped create. [applause] on the first of april, 900 belsen the low earners will stop paying income tax -- 900,000 low earners will stop paying income tax altogether. in may, the people of britain will get to choose their own a voting system, and this time next year the children who needed the most help will be getting the most help. we have always seen the face of change. we are now the agent of change, and every single person in this hall today is part of that change. actually, there is one contribution that you all made to the success of the coalition negotiations that you are probably not aware of. our formidable negotiating team got all of the training they needed bat

they are also a close friend of britain. now, britain is in a difficult position. bahrain has been moving towards greater democracy but not enough for these protesters. now, scores of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and it is alleged that some have been tortured including one who is a british citizen. >> it was clear that he was tied from both hands and hong from the ceiling -- hung from the ceiling. >> his wife says that the british authorities are not doing enough to help him. >> i feel that they don't want their to be a confrontation between themselves and the bahrain government. >> a mini cab driver has campaigned against the government while in london. he was granted asylum. this summer, he went back to bahrain on holiday and talk of reform made him so safe but he was arrested and charged with plotting to overthrow the government. the foreign office says they are very concerned about the torture claims and they have pressured the embassy staff to meet him but they were denied access at first because he is also a british national as well as a citizen

this is the sec time a pope fete seth foot in britain. when the pope visited in 1982 he was greet by massive adoring crowds but pope benedict xvi will face plenty of protest on friday. >> we are urging the pope to open vatican's secret sex files. >> reporter: there's been a lot of criticism about the cost to the british taxpayer, an estimated $20 million to pay for travel, accommodations and security including here at the london residence where the pope will be staying. critics say pope benedict xvi may not even fill arenas at hi outdoor evens around britain. the first day ends with an open- air mass in glasgow. it includes a performance by scottish singer and staunch catholic susan boyle. a public figure whose popularity may outshine the man she's performing for. charlie d'agata, cbs news, london. >>> tomorrow the pope will meet with the british prime minister tony blair and british prime minister. >>> howard has the forecast coming up. >>> we will introduce you to the cocker spaniel and tell you about a front heading this way. back with

so bankers are feeling unloved in britain as well? >> well, i don't think bankers are sort of top of the pops in terms of the popularity stakes anywhere at the moment. and i don't think it serves much purpose to sort of arbitrarily vilify anybody. but let's be honest. i can understand why folk who are having to face maybe a freeze in their pay, maybe adjustments in their pensions, particularly people who work in our schools and our hospitals, in our essential services, people who work, you know, long hours, doing very, very noble, great things in public service. i can understand why they are saying, why are we having to have a sacrifice when it wasn't our responsibility. why aren't bankers taking their fair share of responsibility? that's why we imposed a levee on the banks, which will raise about 10 billion pounds over the next five years, which the previous government didn't. we've launched a review of the structure of banking, looking at the case of splitting up banking. with the benefit of hindsight, it was a spectacular failure o

britain has now said they'll take fresh stock of its extradition laws which currently allow u.k. citizens to be shipped abroad for a trial with little or no evidence of their guilt the overall is expected to focus on the treaty with us as campaigners say it's biased against britain but the home office says the independent review will not impact any case is already being processed as artie's lawyer and it reports. reclaiming some of its lost power britain is set to review controversial extradition treaties with the us and european union under the current laws countries that want to extradite british citizens don't have to provide any evidence that they're guilty of the crime they're wanted for if you stand in that course truth of something which might be totally absurd there is nothing that a british court can to stop him being extradited to have a very very limited powers to stop him being extorted and we've seen this in a number of cases now where there's no real evidence against somebody and if the court was allowed to look at the evidence they would say sorry doesn't justify t

reclaiming some of its lost power britain is set to review controversial extradition treaties with the us and european union under the current laws countries that want to extradite british citizens don't have to provide any evidence that they're guilty of the crime they're wanted for if you stand in that cost used of something which might be totally absurd there is nothing that a british court can to stop him being extradited to have a very very limited powers to stop him being extorted and we've seen this in a number of cases now where there's no real evidence against somebody and if the court was allowed to look at the evidence they would say sorry it doesn't justify tradition we're not going to allow it after years of fighting it's a small victory for john this sharp her son is gary mckinnon who is wanted in the us perhaps into the pentagon's computers he's been granted a stay of extradition and if the review gives britain its legal system more power to protect its citizens he may not have to face decades in an american jail the way really really difficult because there is every sec

he said britain was a country marked by a new and aggressive atheism. the cardinal went on to say that when you land at heathrow, you think at times that you have landed in a third-world country. cardinal kasper no longer works with the pope, though he had been due to come to britain to act as an adviser. he has now canceled, the vatican says, because of poor health. the comments have been met with surprise and concern by those we spoke to in scotland. >> i do not know why he would say that. i think we do pretty well for ourselves, and people still believe in their religion anyway. >> i think he has to believe he meant it, especially someone that close to the pope. >> there is no suggestion pope benedict knew about the cardinal's, as before they were published, and the pope is aware of the potential damage they could now cause -- knew about the cardinal's comments before they were published. >> there is a potential of embarrassment with the timing being what it is. the vatican has been working to deflect criticism because of the police scandal and sexua

france and britain on alert, officials uncover a credible plot to attack. >>> campaigner in chief. president obama rallies the faithful ahead of midterm elections. >>> and coach chaos, a pee wee football game turns ugly after a coaches' argument triggers a man-size brawl. this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, september 29th, 2010. good morning, everybody, thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. begin overseas this morning, both france and britain on alert for possible terror attacks. the threat is described as credible. a british officials said the plots were in an early stage with an islamic connection. mark phillips is in london and has the latest on this. good morning, mark. >> good morning, betty. well, western intelligence agencies are saying there is a credible, what they're calling a credible islamist-o linked terror plot that they have interrupted, one that would affect several countries in the west including the u.s., also britain, france and germany. people are undoubtedly nervous but they also say there is no evidence at this time any plot or any attacks were im

we develop policy ideas for the future of britain. labour -- the f >> that was 30 seconds. >> behalf to restore trust in politics. there was a collapse in trust generally across the country. my very first speech in parliament 22 years ago was about immigration. because i have done so much for what we need to be aware of is scapegoating the migrants in our midst. >> will talk about immigration letter. >> the reality is that in too many communities, the people who have been labour in the past said i do not think you're standing up for us and up. i think politicians are all the same. on the big issues people are caring about, jobs, housing, university finance, we're going to stand up for you. it is no surprise that people did not turn out for us. we have to get back on people's side. labour will reduce the housing lines. >> across the south of england, we've not address the problem of housing. it is a big failure of our government. they could get rid down and make away in the war. labour, we had become dangerously disconnected from ordin

in previous years, he was detained in both denmark and britain. both countries rejected russia's extradition request so friday was triple witching. >> yes, very volatile oil. everybody loved it. stock prices drifted lower today, and heavy volume as investors reacted to the expiration of options and futures contracts. the so-called triple witching. trading is normally extremely volatile on these days at the end of each quarter, especially this year with volume so low on european and american exchanges. despite friday's volatility, share prices on many european exchanges ended the session almost where they started. >> days like these cannot throw off seasoned investors who are used to volatility. it is difficult to determine whether a company news, rumors, or triple witching day affect equity prices must bid on friday, stock index futures, options commencing goals stock options all expire at once, which means that investors had to cash in that's been made on stocks and where the share prices are headed. big investors jumped in, trying to coax stock

and now america must finish the job britain started. no british troops at this time, they have faced too many days like this. >> i find it very difficult to talk about. without someone having been there, you cannot describe the smells, the sites, even pictures don't seem to work. you have to be there and, the emotions -- to have a true understanding of what people here go through. >> handing over to the americans is a bittersweet mellon for the troops. there happen -- they are happy to be going, but their regret the mission is far from over. >> the amount of effort, time, lives lost, i feel a little hollow that we did not break this place. we did not bring it to our way of thinking. it is definitely -- i feel heartbroken we did not finish it. thever, i'm 100% sure of banks will. >> -- the yanks will. >> it cost the lives of 106 men. the debate over the sacrifice and rewards goes on in a war that still shows few signs of easing. >> some news just in -- the north korean state news agency says the ruling workers' party congress is to hold

and the pope arrives in great britain with a message of traditional values. live from our studio in washington. this is special report. good evening, i'm bret baier. president obama looked to the future today saying he is confident the country will emerge from the current storm, with the stronger economy. but for the average family, that positivity about tomorrow doesn't necessarily translate when bills need to be paid today. chief washington correspondent jim angle looks at the economic situation. >> more signs of a struggling economy today as mortgage lenders repossess more homes in august than any month since the housing market crashed almost three years ago. >> looking at rising foreclosures and the expectation is we're not going to peak until at least the middle of next year. >> reporter: in all banks repossessed more than 95,000 homes last month. up 3% from july and an increase of 25% from august of last year. and some say administration efforts have only made things worse. >> they've spent recklessly in many regards, trillions of dollars and what do we

and the states and britain and canada, thereby hitting three countries. it's a very confusing and contradictory story. on the one hand, this appears to be very serious plot to hit three countries simultaneously. we have a mumbai-style raid. attacking buildings in cities simultaneously and spraying gunfire as civilians. there were hostages who were murdered. they killed nearly to wonder people in 48 hours. they got the headlines that they craved -- they killed 200 people in 48 hours. this has moved from one is caught aspirational -- this has moved from one that is called aspirational. i do not think the authorities in there and the states or over your wanted the details of this to get out. it was leaked to the u.s. media somehow. people always say that it was a deliberate leak. i do not think it was. i do not think they have tourr in of criminal evidence arrest anybody. >> thank you india has launched a biometric id scheme. it will put more than 1 billion citizens on a database. it is hoping the database will give an accurate picture of indian society. the

world renowned elite notoriously camera shy these are britain's special forces at work in afghanistan they're seen as one of the greatest assets the u.k.'s army has to offer but even they aren't immune from government cuts the ministry of defense is being forced to save between ten and twenty percent of its budget for the s.a.'s that will mean getting rid of those too old for combat duty and axing one of its part time battalions my concern would be the vast numbers of going in they're going to be out of work they have been in the military environment. combat environment hostile environment for a number of years all of the shot and they go off on themselves with a skill set that they can't use in the civilian community pretty harsh or for the fact that there are no work out of a job some say the decision to axe old soldiers is a false economy they're the ones with the know how and in valuable experience and economists urging a proper look at what the u.k. is defense needs actually are rather than just last paying off a bit here and there i don't think that sort of slicing approach is r

imran farooq, has been stabbed to death outside his home in britain. pope benedict arrives in london, his first official state visit by a pope since the 16th cent rifment his message, keep the feat. he urges catholics in scotland to stay true to their christian roots. the sarkozy lashes out after critics condemn the expulsion of roama people from the country. >> hello and welcome to "bbc news." we are broadcasting to our viewers in the united kingdom and around the world. politician frs a leading party in the pakistani city of karaci says one of their leaders, imran farooq was killed in london. s he is believed to be attacked in northwest london. british police have not yet confirmed the identity of the victim, but said a 50-year-old victim has died after suffering multiple knife wounds. >> a major police investigation has begun. at its heart, the violent and so far unexplained death of this man, dr. imran farooq, a leading member of a movement and one of pakistan's most controversial political parties. in the pakistani city, there was shock and grief

hello, it is the first state visit by a pope to britain since the 16th century when henry viii broke from rome and formed the anglican church. the pope has been forced to acknowledge failings over pedophile priests and issued a warning about the dangers of what he calls aggressive secularism in britain. we look at an occasion that matches protocol with religious fervor. >> it was as the pope's aircraft brought him to edinburgh that he talked about the sex abuse scandal. he said the catholic church hadn't dealt with the problem decisive enough. these revelations were for me a shock and great sadness, he said. this is a time of penitence. the first priority is taking care of the victims. that's probably all the pope will say about the matter. the man greeted by the duke of edinburgh is a rather shy and scholarly man. the duke escorted the pope through military honor. absent from the cardinals traveling with the pope, his friend, cardinal casper, whose comparison of the u.k. to a third world nation is not to reflect his view. once inside, he was invisible. at the palace of holyroodhouse

up to 1000 patients in britain have permanent implants inserted. they are introduced on a wire and inflated with a balloon. but this stent is made with of cornstarch polymer. over time, crucially, it dissolves, leaving the artery. the scaffold is now in place and in the artery. in about a year, it will dissolve, as it is gradually absorbed. it is all done under a local anesthetic. >> tell me, how are you feeling? >> [unintelligible] >> an international trial of the stent is underway. it will take several years before the full results are known. but cardiologists here are optimistic. >> i think this thing now, today, the future -- we will be able to stent the patient, and at the same time, after two to three years, it will dissolve. >> exciting, too, for the patient, who until now suffered severe angina. >> changing over -- it used to really hurt me in my heart. >> in future, he is planning to do a lot more exercise to look after his heart. bbc news. >> now, finally, man's best friend is generally thought to be a dog. that is not the case in one rea

pope benedict arrives in britain for a visit that's already being overshadowed by controversial comments from the vatican. >>> up close and personal. the biggest animals return to the coast of california, after decades away. >>> good morning. as the campaign season is kicking into high gear, we have some new evidence of just how tough november's elections could be for the democrats. >> a number of new polls out this morning demonstrate the growing discontinue tent among voters. one finds 57% of americans believe the country's headed in the wrong direction. just 40% say it's actually going the right way. >> and off the heels of tea party candidate victories on tuesday, democrats clearly have a lot to do. vice president biden was on tv last night, staying positive. >> we are going to retain control of the house. we're going to retain control of the senate. because when the american people focus on the alternative, it's going to be absolutely clear to them, there is no alternative. >> biden also accused the republicans of being a party which has no room for moderates. and he says, with that

bbc news, kabul. >> on the -- on the second day of his visit to britain, pope benedict xvi has warned that religion, christianist in particular, is being marginalized around the world. in an historic speech at westminster hall, the pope said there are some people who wanted to see the voice of religion be silences. we look back at the day's events. >> majesty of westminster great hall echoes down the centuries in its symbolism. this is the spot where the catholic martyr thomas more was tried and sentenced to death by the newly protestant english state. the pope came here to praise thomas more for the integrity of his conscience, which led him to serve god above earthly authority. with britain's contemporary earthly authorities before him he warned of the dangers of the growing secularization of life in the west, the growing marginalized of belief in christian values was a threat to the very democracy of which westminster itself was such a powerful symbol. >> a vital contribution to the national conversation. in this life i cannot but voice my concern at the continuing marginalized of

britain gets ready to greet the pope. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> the german government and the opposition had some fears exchanges in parliament wednesday over the coalition's budget for next year. the opposition says the austerity plans are socially unjust. the government says the cuts are fair and necessary. chancellor angela merkle was forced to defend her record on the economy, unemployment, and inflation in the face of biting criticism. >> there was a tough job awaiting chancellor merkle on wednesday morning. she had to defend the biggest spending cuts in german postwar history. the chancellor started by drawing attention to previous government shortfalls. >> it was not individuals living beyond their means. it was those in charge who could not muster the energy to ensure this country's future. that is what we are changing. >> she also pointed out her success in shielding the country from the worst effects of the economic crisis. >> 2 million more or 2 million less unemployed