It is very unusual for a country to ask guys who are not politicians to come and run the country.

I have the most profound respect for the Department of Justice and the FTC. We in Europe are a younger and I would say junior institution to the historical antitrust experience of the US.

The two greatest priorities for my government are tackling tax evasion and corruption.

In the area of macroeconomic policies, I think we'll see more centralization, like in the budgetary sphere.

If the euro becomes a factor promoting Europe's drifting apart, then the foundation of the European project is destroyed.

There is no government in Europe where ministers go through that kind of confirmation process, which in fact is modeled on the way the U.S. cabinet members are confirmed.

My aspiration is not to be loved. It is that my government be respected and credible.

I am certain that most Germans have instinctive liking for Italy, just as Italians admire Germans for their many qualities.

I know that speaking with parties, which I do, but not very often, is seen by many as a contamination.

I believe that in Europe, we have a collective leadership.

I believe that reforms will not really take hold if they do not gradually come into the culture of the people.

The stony silence of death, trapped by the original gravity of our sins, and the perpetuity of a long, leisurely yawn, a world where blood and bone no longer matter.

What she has is effortlessly remarkable, the kind of gift you only feel the weight of if it's something you don't have but dearly want.

I'm not a Christian, but I think the Christian message is a good one.

I want to sing for people. I want them to have the music. It's a nice feeling.

A lot of deaths feel sad. Philip Seymour Hoffman's feels like a robbery.

It Was Once Suggested to Me that, as an Antidote to Crying, I Put My Head in a Paper Bag.

I've discovered writers by reading books left in airplane seats and weird hotels.

Our identity in the world must change from Scam India to Skill India.

Myth and poetry represent a reservoir of vertical thinking, which we could also call longing and gratitude to ancestors. We need that gratitude desperately.

There are moments when suddenly our eyes blink open and we recapture the excitement of living. Life becomes an adventure and we, adventurers.