And George Soros is accusing many − including the Bundesbank, with its emphasis on frontloaded consolidation − of destroying the euro. It will hardly come as a surprise to you that I do not share such views. Rather, I suggest that dragging out fiscal adjustment would have major negative effects.
For 1999 this impulse may be roughly estimated at NLG 10 billion (1.25% of GDP). In a sense, the situation in our country is comparable with that in the United States. We have now reached a point where caution is called for.