Our imperative is to promote growth and jobs.
~Statement from G8 Leaders 

The tide is turning.  Frustration has been building in Europe over deep austerity cuts meant to address deficit issues but only further hampering growth and ultimately hurting the deficit long term.  The true solution will not be solved until countries get back to full employment…this is after all – a global economy.  Over the past several years – Germany has had the inside track and has had the largest amount of influence on the fiscal policies that the European Union has pursued.  Germany’s influence has been anchored by the Franco-German alliance with French President Sarkozy in lockstep with that of Germany’s Chancellor Merkel.

No longer.  France has a new President; one that has called for a focus on a more balanced approach for growth with smart cuts. Great Britain is seeing continued pressure now that the austerity unleashed under conservative Prime Minister Cameron has placed Great Britain back into a double dip recession….and the British are pushing back against austerity with vigor.  All of this is isolating Germany’s influence and giving France a new partner in the push for growth and reaching full employment again.  The new American-French alliance is going to prove to be an important relationship moving forward.

MSNBC has the news – article HERE:

Leaders of the world’s richest countries banded together on Saturday to press Germany to back more pro-growth policies to halt the deepening debt crisis in Europe, as President Obama for the first time gained widespread support for his argument that Europe, and the United States by extension, cannot afford Chancellor Angela Merkel’s one-size-fits-all approach emphasizing austerity.

Pointedly recognizing “that the right measures are not the same for each of us,” the leaders of the Group of 8 nations, at a meeting hosted by Mr. Obama at Camp David, committed to “take all necessary steps” to strengthen their economies. They said they wanted to keep Greece in the euro zone and vowed to work to promote growth in Europe, though they did not detail how they would do so.

Reuters reports on the focus on growth – article HERE:

The comment underscored his solidarity with Hollande on the view that measures to spur economic growth – and not just fiscal austerity – are needed to fix Europe’s economic woes.

Obama added that solving the euro zone crisis was of “extraordinary importance, not only to the people of Europe, but also to the world economy.”

Hollande told Obama that growth must be a priority and said the two leaders discussed their concerns about Greece. “We share the same views, the fact that Greece must stay in the eurozone and that all of us must do what we can to that effect,” he said.

Obama and other U.S. officials have repeatedly pressed European leaders to do more to spur economic growth.

Obama’s support for Hollande’s view could put pressure on Merkel, who has stressed the need for fiscal discipline to restore the health of the euro zone economies, even as voters have toppled belt-tightening governments.

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