Word: merkel
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...faint-hearted. Just ask President Obama. So an air of menace could help Philipp Rösler, Germany's new Health Minister, in his quest to shake up the country's expensive public health-care system. At 36, the Vietnamese-born politician is the youngest member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's new center-right coalition government and the first Asian ever to be appointed a German cabinet minister. Softly spoken and affable, he certainly doesn't seem like a political bruiser. But rumor has it that no one dared challenge him when he attended Catholic school in Hannover because they...
...regional parliament in Lower Saxony, and six years later, after working his way up the ranks of the FDP, he became Economy Minister of Lower Saxony. His appointment to head the German Health Ministry on Wednesday caps a meteoric rise to the top. (See pictures of world leaders, including Merkel, on vacation...
...sler now has one of the most difficult jobs in Merkel's cabinet. As Health Minister, he'll come under intense pressure from the myriad lobbyists, medical insurers, doctors' groups and pharmaceutical companies as he attempts to change the financing structure of the country's health-care system. The appointment of a relative ingénu to this key post caused widespread surprise. One newspaper carried the headline: "FDP Youngster in a Dogfight." But some analysts say his youth and inexperience in federal government will not be a huge issue. " Rösler is very competent, he's a doctor...
...Merkel has said that health-care reform will be one of her new government's top priorities. Although medical treatment in Germany is among the best in the world, the country's health-care system faces an uncertain future due to exploding costs, a rapidly aging population and a burdensome bureaucracy. About 90% of Germany's 82 million people are covered by the country's public health insurance companies, which are currently funded by contributions from employers and employees. Merkel's reform plan is expected to include a freeze on employer contributions - shifting the burden to individuals - and the creation...
...sler was sworn into office with 14 other cabinet members at a ceremony in Berlin on Wednesday, four weeks after parliamentary elections gave Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) enough seats to form a government with the FDP. With the FDP leader Guido Westerwelle becoming Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister and the party also claiming the key economics portfolio along with international development and justice, the Free Democrats are aiming to leverage their junior coalition position for maximum effect. Rösler, as the party's rising star, will no doubt figure prominently in their plans. (Read: "'Much Work' Ahead...