:00:09. > :00:14.Fiscal union or bust - Germany and France edged towards a far-reaching
:00:14. > :00:18.political deal to save the euro. Chancellor Merkel and President
:00:18. > :00:23.Sarkozy talk of a new European treaty to impose strict control
:00:23. > :00:33.over national budgets. TRANSLATION: We need fiscal unity with strong
:00:33. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :00:44.powers of intervention, at least Welcome to GMT. Also in the
:00:44. > :00:50.programme, standing together for Burmese democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi
:00:50. > :00:54.says she is cautious but hopeful after talks with Hillary Clinton.
:00:54. > :00:59.Preparing for the final exit - the Americans hand over Camp Victory,
:00:59. > :01:08.their biggest military base inside Iraq.
:01:08. > :01:11.It is 12:30pm in London. Chancellor Angela Merkel today told the German
:01:11. > :01:15.parliament that only strict new rules enforcing fiscal discipline
:01:15. > :01:20.could rebuild trust in the euro- zone. There is no quick fix, she
:01:20. > :01:23.said, it is a process that will take years. Mrs Merkel and
:01:23. > :01:27.President Sarkozy of France are attempting to come up with a joint
:01:27. > :01:31.plan for significant changes to the EU treaty which governs the euro-
:01:31. > :01:37.zone. But will talk of fiscal union be enough to calm the fears of a
:01:37. > :01:41.break-up of the common currency? From Europe's biggest economic
:01:41. > :01:45.power, the latest message that it really is time to think big on the
:01:45. > :01:49.euro crisis, as another crisis summit looms. The key political
:01:49. > :01:54.figure in all this is the return must start work on tighter fiscal
:01:54. > :01:58.union, but also warned that the crisis will be a long haul.
:01:58. > :02:02.TRANSLATION: There are no easy solutions. Especially not as some
:02:02. > :02:12.people insist on staying ahead of every summit, the apparent one last
:02:12. > :02:14.
:02:14. > :02:17.push. That is neither my kind of language, nor my way of thinking.
:02:17. > :02:22.The resolution of the euro crisis is a process, and this process will
:02:22. > :02:26.take years. In France, President Sarkozy delivered his own, sombre
:02:26. > :02:31.judgment that Europe is not measured up in this crisis. He said
:02:31. > :02:36.the French and Germans had agreed on the need for a revised treaty to
:02:36. > :02:40.tackle the failures and weaknesses of the euro. TRANSLATION: France is
:02:40. > :02:47.fighting for a new treaty, more disciplined, more solidarity, a
:02:47. > :02:52.true economic government. Britain's David Cameron, in Paris to meet his
:02:52. > :02:55.old ally from the Libby conflict. The two men are not as close on the
:02:55. > :02:59.euro crisis. Mr Cameron will be anxious to hear what is on the
:02:59. > :03:04.table in terms of possible treaty changes, and how much instep France
:03:04. > :03:08.and Germany really are now. His calls for action may have irritated
:03:08. > :03:13.his French host on occasion, at the same time, he is worried Britain
:03:13. > :03:17.could become more marginalised. The longer the euro storm goes on, the
:03:17. > :03:23.more both the French and British economies could be blown off course,
:03:23. > :03:26.as could President Sarkozy's re- election hopes. On Monday, the big
:03:26. > :03:30.two will have their latest get together to thrash out their joint
:03:30. > :03:34.ideas. Mrs Merkel may have talked in terms of years to sort out the
:03:34. > :03:37.euro, but the focus now is on the crisis calendar that will lead to
:03:37. > :03:43.Brussels again at the end of next week, and the latest crunch EU
:03:43. > :03:49.summit. So, France and Germany doing their
:03:49. > :03:56.best to calm the storm around the euro, is it working? Let's go to
:03:56. > :04:02.Brussels. What you're hearing from Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy,
:04:02. > :04:07.is it convincing view that there is a credible plan to restore faith in
:04:07. > :04:11.the EU wrote? I think what I hear it is good news, but it is not
:04:11. > :04:16.convincing yet. To be convincing, we need detail on how they want to
:04:16. > :04:20.do it, whether they really agree to give up national sovereignty and
:04:20. > :04:28.put it to a European level. That is something we have to hear next week.
:04:28. > :04:33.Giving up so run deep -- sovereignty is the key. Do you
:04:33. > :04:38.think the Germans want Sarkozy to give up more? I think the Germans
:04:38. > :04:43.are now determined to give up more, they want to push this thing ahead,
:04:43. > :04:47.push towards fiscal union, a stability Union, as they like to
:04:47. > :04:52.call it. This will include more giving up of sovereignty by the
:04:52. > :04:57.French. Would it go so far as some have suggested, as to see the
:04:57. > :05:02.creation of a year -- euro-zone finance ministry, essentially
:05:02. > :05:08.running national economies across the euro-zone, from Brussels or
:05:08. > :05:11.Frankfurt? I think this is possibly the ultimate scenario. I don't
:05:11. > :05:17.think we was in national parliaments being closed down as of
:05:17. > :05:22.next year, but we do need a central organisation, a European
:05:22. > :05:25.organisation, which really has a say. This will prevent the horse
:05:25. > :05:32.trading we have had over the last 10 years in the country breaches
:05:32. > :05:36.the rules. The problem Mrs Merkel pointed to today, is it is going to
:05:36. > :05:40.take years to sort out such a fundamental shift inside the
:05:40. > :05:45.European Union. For you as a banker, is it important that the other
:05:45. > :05:49.discussion about immediate short- term action still continues,
:05:49. > :05:56.considering the role of the European Central Bank, and the
:05:56. > :06:00.possibility of Euro bonds? Obviously, the fiscal integration
:06:00. > :06:06.is one part of the resolution of the problem. The other one, the
:06:06. > :06:10.short-term fix, will be giving the European Central Bank a bigger role.
:06:10. > :06:15.Politicians cannot give the EC be a bigger role, the ECB will have to
:06:16. > :06:19.take this role and decide it on its own. If politicians decide on more
:06:19. > :06:23.fiscal union next week, I think the ECB will be willing to do more, and
:06:23. > :06:28.then we will have a good combination between a short-term
:06:28. > :06:31.fix and a long-term solution. markets look sanguine today, they
:06:31. > :06:38.are pretty much around the world. But that could change pretty
:06:38. > :06:43.quickly. Is this coming summit of EU leaders in a few days, is that
:06:43. > :06:48.make-or-break? It is not make-or- break, but it is very important. We
:06:48. > :06:53.have had so many make-or-break summit over the last month, I don't
:06:53. > :06:58.think that on 10th December, everything will be over the Sun
:06:58. > :07:07.will be shining. But it will be very important on the red was a
:07:07. > :07:10.better euro-zone. Thank you for joining us.
:07:10. > :07:13.The Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, says she is
:07:13. > :07:19.confident there will be no turning back on the road to democracy in
:07:19. > :07:23.Burma. But she warned that the country had a long way to travel.
:07:23. > :07:27.She was speaking after talks at her home with the US secretary of state,
:07:27. > :07:31.Hillary Clinton. It was the second meeting between the two women
:07:31. > :07:35.during Mrs Clinton's historic visit to Burma. Mrs Clinton also met the
:07:35. > :07:39.Burmese president, Thein Sein, on Thursday.
:07:39. > :07:45.Our correspondent has been travelling with Mrs Clinton. This
:07:45. > :07:49.is her assessment of the trip. Never before has this house
:07:49. > :07:53.welcomed such a high-profile foreign visitors. The American
:07:53. > :07:58.secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, arrived in the morning in her black
:07:59. > :08:03.limousine, for a second meeting with Burma's noble react. Aung San
:08:03. > :08:07.Suu Kyi's home is where she was held in detention for almost two
:08:07. > :08:12.decades, but the fact that she can welcome Hillary Clinton here is a
:08:12. > :08:17.sign that perhaps things are changing in Burma. As the US tests
:08:17. > :08:21.the waters and tries to re-engage with this isolated country, Aung
:08:21. > :08:26.San Suu Kyi's influence over this process cannot be overestimated. A
:08:26. > :08:31.few weeks ago, President Obama called Aung San Suu Kyi, they spoke
:08:31. > :08:38.for over 45 minutes. She told him she bullied the country's president,
:08:38. > :08:41.Thein Sein, was serious about reform -- she believed. Only then
:08:41. > :08:47.did President Obama announced he was sending his top diplomat to the
:08:47. > :08:51.country. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party are now re-entering
:08:51. > :08:56.the political process. She herself said she would stand for Parliament
:08:56. > :09:01.in the upcoming by-elections. These have been extraordinary days for
:09:01. > :09:05.Burma, but these are also early days. In the coming months,
:09:05. > :09:08.Washington, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the Burmese people will be watching
:09:08. > :09:16.closely to see if this country's leadership does indeed deliver on
:09:16. > :09:19.its promise for change. The government of Taiwan says it is
:09:19. > :09:23.planning to issue a passport to the exiled former prime minister,
:09:23. > :09:27.Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Thaksin lives in Dubai after being
:09:27. > :09:31.convicted of corruption and stripped of his Thai passport under
:09:31. > :09:38.the last government. The current government, led by his sister, says
:09:38. > :09:41.the past but will be issued as a new year's gift. Herman Cain, one
:09:41. > :09:46.of the Republican presidential candidate in the US, has admitted
:09:46. > :09:50.giving money to a woman who said they had a 13 year affair. He said
:09:50. > :09:54.he repeatedly helped the woman, Ginger White, with build and
:09:54. > :09:57.expenses, but denies having sex with her.
:09:57. > :10:01.The UN Human Rights Council is holding an emergency session on
:10:01. > :10:04.Syria to discuss evidence that President Assad's security forces
:10:04. > :10:09.have committed crimes against humanity. The meeting in Geneva
:10:09. > :10:16.comes in the wake of a UN report accusing Syrian forces of operating
:10:16. > :10:19.a shoot-to-kill policy against unarmed protesters.
:10:20. > :10:24.The US military has handed over control of its former headquarters
:10:24. > :10:27.in Iraq to the Baghdad authorities as part of the plan to pull out all
:10:28. > :10:31.American soldiers by the end of the year. Camp Victory were set up on
:10:31. > :10:35.the outskirts of the capital in a former country club built by Saddam
:10:35. > :10:45.Hussein. At its peak, it was home to nearly 50,000 US service
:10:45. > :10:46.
:10:46. > :10:53.personnel. Let's cross live to Baghdad now. It
:10:53. > :10:59.is a highly symbolic moment, isn't it? Very symbolic, very iconic, as
:10:59. > :11:05.you sit in your introduction. This used to be a huge complex, it was
:11:05. > :11:10.more of a city than a complex. This is where US officials, generals,
:11:10. > :11:12.used to draw strategies for Iraq, oversee the execution of these
:11:13. > :11:17.strategies, and now it is under full control of the Iraqi
:11:17. > :11:24.authorities. What are the Iraqis going to do with it? I just spoke
:11:24. > :11:27.to be defence spokesperson, and he said that this place is listed
:11:27. > :11:31.under the properties of the government of Iraq now, they have
:11:31. > :11:36.no plans to use it for military purposes, but some parts of it
:11:36. > :11:40.might be turned to museums, or maybe they might make use of the
:11:40. > :11:45.parks inside the complex. Iraqis have made it plain they do
:11:45. > :11:54.not want to see any residual US forces left behind in Iraq, so how
:11:54. > :11:58.close are we now to the last set of American Boots' leading Iraqi soil?
:11:58. > :12:02.Theoretically, the last soldier must leave Iraq by the end of this
:12:02. > :12:06.month, the end of this year. But it seems that the pace of this
:12:06. > :12:13.withdrawal is getting quicker, and it might be even before the end of
:12:13. > :12:17.this year. Thank you are joining us. While many countries are suffering
:12:17. > :12:22.from an economic downturn, some are still enjoying rapid growth. Among
:12:22. > :12:25.them, Argentina, where the economy grew by more than 9% last year. An
:12:25. > :12:30.extraordinary number, when you remember that a decade ago, the
:12:30. > :12:36.Argentine peso collapsed, there were riots in the street, and the
:12:36. > :12:45.country defaulted on its foreign debt. Even now, many people feel
:12:45. > :12:49.the effects of that crisis. Argentina is growing at full force.
:12:49. > :12:54.The country is enjoying one of the biggest booms in its history, and
:12:54. > :12:57.is one of the fastest-growing economies on the planet. On BT
:12:57. > :13:03.streets like this one hearing Buenos Aires, you can sense a
:13:03. > :13:07.vibrant country. One that has left behind the shadows of a dark past.
:13:07. > :13:14.A decade ago, Argentina had one of the worst economic knockdowns in
:13:14. > :13:20.history. On 3rd December 2001, the Argentine government restricted the
:13:20. > :13:24.amount of money people can withdraw from banks, prompting widespread
:13:24. > :13:29.unrest and the downfall of the government. In one week, the
:13:29. > :13:33.country had five presidents, and defaulted on its external debt
:13:33. > :13:37.repayments. Many Argentines suffered huge losses. Before the
:13:37. > :13:41.crisis, this woman had savings to buy an apartment, but months later,
:13:41. > :13:47.after the crisis, the money had lost so much value that it was only
:13:47. > :13:55.enough for a par. It was very sad, because it was our hope to have a
:13:55. > :14:02.new house, a new quality of life for our family, our children. And
:14:02. > :14:06.in just one day, because of political decisions, we had lost
:14:06. > :14:11.that opportunity. Argentina's economy had been growing steadily
:14:11. > :14:16.for eight years, boosted by the exports of soy beans. But the
:14:16. > :14:21.recovery was also built at a number of steps taken by the authorities.
:14:21. > :14:25.What was done was to establish some pillars, one of the pillars was to
:14:25. > :14:34.reduce, as much as possible, the fiscal imbalance and converted into
:14:34. > :14:38.a surplus if possible. The second pillar was established, also a
:14:38. > :14:45.competitive exchange rate. But the consequences of the crust is still
:14:45. > :14:48.affect Argentinians today. -- of the crisis. A for our society, it
:14:48. > :14:58.was something completely new, so I never put my savings in the bank
:14:58. > :15:05.
:15:05. > :15:11.Argentina seems to have recovered her groove and this could prove
:15:11. > :15:15.hopeful for the troubled European countries today.
:15:15. > :15:18.Still to come: The aye rate calls keep coming. Jeremy Clarkson's
:15:18. > :15:27.comments about striking British workers prompt thousands of
:15:27. > :15:30.complaints to the BBC. Right now, it's time for the
:15:30. > :15:34.business news. We've been talking about the eurozone today, but of
:15:34. > :15:39.course, very important jobs figures out of the US today.
:15:39. > :15:42.Yes, we're expecting 125,000 new jobs to have been added to the jobs
:15:42. > :15:46.labour market in November. These are hugely important figures.
:15:46. > :15:49.Everyone watches what's going on in the US with keen interest. We have
:15:49. > :15:52.had some positive economic data out of the US in recent weeks. We've
:15:52. > :15:56.had strong consumer confidence figures and improved manufacturing
:15:56. > :16:02.picture, but it's worth remembering that the eurozone crisis has been a
:16:02. > :16:06.problem for the US economy. The markets there are very worried.
:16:06. > :16:11.Let's list ton what this analyst had to say. It's been known for a
:16:11. > :16:17.flexible labour market that bounces back quickly after recession, we're
:16:17. > :16:22.actually seeing the opposite in this recession al recovery. The
:16:22. > :16:26.labour market is improving, but it's improving extremely slowly and
:16:26. > :16:28.it's patchy. It's worth remembering this is really important, the US
:16:28. > :16:32.economy is a huge issue for re- election for President Obama as
:16:32. > :16:38.well. Now, I am going to drag you back to Europe, because leaving
:16:38. > :16:40.aside what Sarkozy's up to with Cameron and Angela Merkel,
:16:40. > :16:43.manufacturers are worried about the state of the eurozone, particularly
:16:44. > :16:49.the car makers. They're meeting, they've been meeting in Brussels
:16:49. > :16:57.today. All the car makers are coming together in a big group. We
:16:57. > :17:02.have Ford Europe, the boss of Fiat, they are together to complain about
:17:02. > :17:06.eurozone leaders about how they're handling the crisis. Their argument
:17:06. > :17:10.is that they're eroding consumer confidence by not solving the
:17:10. > :17:14.crisis. When that's eroded what do people do? They buy less, in
:17:14. > :17:17.particular they spend less on cars. They're worried the prospects for
:17:17. > :17:22.the car industry look bleak. Let's see what this analyst had to say.
:17:22. > :17:28.We are looking at a situation where we have to slash production. It
:17:28. > :17:35.will have negative effect on employment. Also on growth,
:17:35. > :17:41.innovation and on the industry as a whole. We are unfortunately afraid
:17:41. > :17:45.that we are moving back where we were in 2008/09. The boss of Fiat
:17:45. > :17:50.has come out and said that 2012 could be a year of stagnation for
:17:50. > :17:55.the car industry and he also said he warned that if things don't
:17:55. > :18:03.change soon, he could take Fiat out change soon, he could take Fiat out
:18:03. > :18:08.of Italy because he wants to save money. Now the markets: the markets
:18:08. > :18:12.are up, why? Because of the important news information out of
:18:12. > :18:16.the US. Also the European Central Bank is talking about lending money,
:18:16. > :18:25.so markets are more positive. Plenty of green despite the crisis.
:18:25. > :18:29.We want to hear what you think. Get in touch with us. Go to our website,
:18:29. > :18:33.bbc.co.uk/GMT. More on the European bbc.co.uk/GMT. More on the European
:18:33. > :18:40.debt crisis, and plenty more as well.
:18:40. > :18:44.This is GMT from BBC World News. I'm Stephen Sackur. The headlines:
:18:44. > :18:47.Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, calls for greater fiscal unity in
:18:47. > :18:50.the eurozone, but warns finding a solution to the crisis could take
:18:50. > :18:53.years. Burma's pro-democracy leader, Aung
:18:53. > :19:00.San Suu Kyi, says she's confident of reforms in her country, after
:19:00. > :19:04.talks with Hillary Clinton. A rebel Libyan soldier, shot during
:19:04. > :19:09.the battle for Tripoli, has been talking about his treatment here in
:19:09. > :19:14.the UK. He had his lower right leg amputated after doctors in London
:19:14. > :19:17.decided that it could not be saved. He's one of 50 Libyans who the
:19:17. > :19:27.British Government said they would treat at the request and cost of
:19:27. > :19:29.
:19:29. > :19:33.This man didn't come to Britain expecting to luz a foot, but he's
:19:33. > :19:39.now coming to terms with his new pros theet is. He was shot three
:19:39. > :19:44.times the day Tripoli fell to anti- Gaddafi forces. He fought alongside
:19:44. > :19:49.friends and strangers, armed with a hunting rifle. One bullet exploded
:19:49. > :19:52.in his lower right leg, shattering his bones.
:19:52. > :19:57.TRANSLATION: I was shot in the battle with the Gaddafi brigades.
:19:57. > :20:02.In the first five minutes, I felt nothing. After that, I fell down.
:20:02. > :20:08.His surgeon says amputation was the best option. He'd had a severe
:20:08. > :20:13.injury to the bones of the leg. But he'd also, because of the blast
:20:13. > :20:17.injury, had lost a lot of soft tissues, down to and including the
:20:17. > :20:22.ankle joint, so that was open. It was clear he had deep infection.
:20:22. > :20:27.You could see the state of the wound and smell the bacteria.
:20:27. > :20:32.had his lower right leg removed the very day Colonel Gaddafi was
:20:32. > :20:36.captured and killed. His physiotherapist says he's making
:20:36. > :20:39.good progress. I think since the surgery and since having the limb
:20:39. > :20:43.fitted, he can probably see now that he's making progress and that
:20:44. > :20:49.he's actually going to return to a fully independent life and be able
:20:49. > :20:53.to do all the things he was doing before. I think generally, he's --
:20:53. > :20:57.his mood is improving and he's working really well in the gym and
:20:57. > :21:01.he's making great progress. patient himself remains
:21:01. > :21:05.philosophical. TRANSLATION: When I left home and I
:21:05. > :21:10.went to fight, I was expecting even to die, so although -- all the
:21:11. > :21:20.options were there. This is fate or destiny from God. I believe in that.
:21:21. > :21:21.
:21:21. > :21:25.I accepted this. The international criminal courts
:21:25. > :21:30.chief prosecuter has requested ab arrest warrant for Sudan's Defence
:21:30. > :21:36.Minister. He's wanted for alleged crimes against humanity and war
:21:36. > :21:40.crimes committed in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. The ICC already has
:21:40. > :21:48.issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's President over allegations
:21:48. > :21:52.of genocide. Now, the BBC has received over
:21:52. > :21:57.21,500 complaints over TV presenter, Jeremy Clarkson. Can you see him
:21:57. > :22:01.behind me, fine figure of a fell ya. His off-hand comments about
:22:01. > :22:05.striking workers in Britain. The Top Gear presenter has apologised
:22:05. > :22:08.for any offence caused and said his comments were never meant to be
:22:08. > :22:13.taken seriously. Here's what he said. Frankly, I'd have them all
:22:13. > :22:20.shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their
:22:20. > :22:25.families. I mean, how dare they go on strike, when they've got these
:22:26. > :22:31.gilt edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed, while the rest of
:22:31. > :22:36.us have to work for a living. incident doesn't appear to have
:22:36. > :22:42.been laid to rest with that sort of apology and words issued by Jeremy
:22:42. > :22:48.Clarkson afterwards, calls continue to come into the BBC. Let's hear
:22:48. > :22:51.from James Delingpole, a columnist for the Spectator magazine. This is
:22:52. > :22:57.dividing Britain right now. Where do you line up on the debate, for
:22:58. > :23:02.or against his right to say what he said? I'm for free speech and I'm
:23:02. > :23:06.for Jeremy Clarkson. Let's examine what happened here. Jeremy Clarkson
:23:06. > :23:10.was invited on the BBC to be Jeremy Clarkson. Jeremy Clarkson behaved
:23:10. > :23:17.like Jeremy Clarkson. I think your viewers all around the world will
:23:17. > :23:19.have seen shows like Top Gear. They know what he's like. He said some
:23:19. > :23:23.Clarkson-ish things. Apparently this had been agreed beforehand
:23:24. > :23:26.with the show's producers - Hang on, I'm going to stop you right now.
:23:27. > :23:29.What is this idea that Jeremy Clarkson has every right to be as
:23:29. > :23:34.offensive as possible. Are you saying there's nothing he could say
:23:34. > :23:39.that would be unacceptable? I think we need to learn to be grown ups
:23:39. > :23:44.and be treated like grown ups. I think context is all. If you looked
:23:44. > :23:47.at Jeremy Clarkson's words in bold print, you might think, "That's a
:23:47. > :23:52.bit dodgy." When you hear him delivering them in his Jock lar
:23:52. > :23:56.style and you heard the laughter in the studio audience there. They
:23:56. > :24:01.knew he was Clarkson being Clarkson. That perfectly acceptable. What
:24:01. > :24:05.about the argument that the biggest crime of all that he was
:24:05. > :24:10.staggeringly unfunny. Humour is a matter of taste. What you're saying,
:24:10. > :24:13.he should be shot for that? It's interesting you come back to the
:24:13. > :24:17.phrase "shot for that". Is talking about executions and people being
:24:17. > :24:21.shot in public, is that in any way, ever funny? I think it would depend
:24:21. > :24:24.probably on what kind of regime you lived under. There are parts of the
:24:24. > :24:29.world where people are shot and that would be very worrying. It
:24:29. > :24:33.doesn't generally happen in Britain. We have a culture of tolerance. And
:24:33. > :24:40.tolerance, which extends or traditionally has done to freedom
:24:40. > :24:45.of speech. We treat our perfect like -- people like gron ups. They
:24:45. > :24:51.can use context to decide whether somebody is fomenting hate. There's
:24:51. > :24:55.no question, he was being jocular. What does it say about Britain,
:24:55. > :24:59.many around the world will know Jeremy Clarkson as one of the
:24:59. > :25:04.leading figures of entertainment in Britain. Many see him as a boarish
:25:04. > :25:08.figure. What does it say about Britain that he is so popular.
:25:08. > :25:11.also see him as rather refreshing and outspoken in a culture
:25:11. > :25:17.dominated by political correctness, which unfortunately the tone is set
:25:17. > :25:21.for that by the BBC itself. So you do see, what you're saying and
:25:22. > :25:28.perhaps what he says as a fight against PC behaviour, do you?
:25:28. > :25:32.Absolutely. I think that Jeremy Clarkson, behind the jocularity of
:25:32. > :25:35.his remarks, was making a serious point about the public sector.
:25:35. > :25:40.Those public sector strikes he was talking about, were a massive flop.
:25:40. > :25:44.They were a flop tore two reasons: First of all, they weren't nearly
:25:44. > :25:47.as widespread that the militants of the left had hoped they'd be. And
:25:47. > :25:50.they focused a lot of people's anger, people in the private sector,
:25:51. > :25:56.who have been really suffering during this recession, are aghast
:25:56. > :25:59.to see how the public sector is being feather bedded by ring-fenced
:25:59. > :26:04.pensions... James, you've expressed a series of views that are, it's
:26:04. > :26:09.fair to say, right-wing views in this country. Is that the way it
:26:09. > :26:12.lines up, if you're pro-Clarkson you tend to be right-wing and
:26:12. > :26:17.conservative? It doesn't have to be about left or right. There are lots
:26:17. > :26:22.of people working in shops, on factory floors in the private
:26:22. > :26:25.sector who feel, who may be traditional Labour voters. They
:26:25. > :26:29.probably feel just as strongly about this as people like me do. It
:26:29. > :26:33.is not just that the public sector is better paid and has better
:26:33. > :26:37.pensions than the private sector. They are not taking their share of
:26:37. > :26:40.the misery, which we are all suffering in the recession.
:26:40. > :26:46.suspect many people will have views on what you just said, thank you
:26:46. > :26:49.for joining us. Before we go, let's remind you of the main story:
:26:49. > :26:53.Chancellor, Angela Merkel, today told the German Parliament that