I can't let important policy decisions hinge on the fact that an election is coming up every 90 days.

We made a decision that monetary policy will be made by an independent European Central Bank.

We must take care that globalization does not become something people become afraid of.

There's no conflict between the social-welfare state and open markets.

The euro is a sickly premature infant, the result of an over-hasty monetary union.

Take the military option off the table - we have already seen it doesn't work.

Any degree of unemployment worries me.

We want to change the way we help unemployed people find jobs. We want to be faster and more goal oriented.

We really believe our national interests are identical with European interests.

Our future begins on January 1 1999. The euro is Europe's key to the 21st century. The era of solo national fiscal and economic policy is over.

A market that's as open as possible is the precondition for a successful economy, and a successful economy is the precondition to being able to pay for social security.

Many men beg for a job but have no clue what hard work really means.

I love the tranquility, serenity, generosity, and the beauty of the ocean.

If I can't joke about imminent death, then I might as well just resign.

I'm a joke comic. I tell jokes.

The world is changing and so is fashion.

Whenever I was upset by something in the papers, [Jack] always told me to be more tolerant, like a horse flicking away flies in the summer.

There is no such thing as perfection, there are only standards. And after you have set a standard you learn that it was not high enough. You want to surpass it.

I'm always curious about what happens when we die. And I'd like to think that somehow the spirit goes on. I'd rather not think that it's just about this.

Tennis is an addiction that once it has truly hooked a man will not let him go.

I don't pose as an authority on anything at all, I follow the opinions of the ordinary people I meet, and I take pride in the close-knit teamwork with my organization.