Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
He is a trained lawyer and is respected for his debating skills.
His market-friendly party is committed to cutting taxes, welfare payments and the size of government.
It also wants the US to remove nuclear warheads stationed on German soil, wants to reverse Germany’s rollback of nuclear power and is against punitive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr Westerwelle insists he is ready for government and has put his clowning behind him.
“Of course I made some mistakes when I was young but one grows older and wiser,” he told AFP news agency earlier this year.
After his party’s electoral success on Sunday, he acknowledged: “We know that above all this means responsibility.”
But, he told cheering supporters: “We are ready to take up the challenge of government.”
Asked whether his homosexuality might be a disadvantage if dealing with some countries as foreign minister, he replied: “The decision as to whom we send as a government representative rests solely with us Germans based on our political and moral standards.”
Tags: wiser'
