But of course Jerome a Paris justifies conservative politics. (...) The true conservatives are in continental Europe, not in the anglo-saxon countries. (...) if German per capita growth will be higher in 08 than the French one, I would think that real conservative policy has done a good job.

Before I react, can you explain what you mean by "conservative"? I think we are in agreement, but I'd rather be sure I understand what you mean.

While in Europe there is some consistence between talk and action, in the US they usually do the opposite of what they recommend for others.

Indeed. That's one of the things I write about all the time.

As a general comment, I am generally more favorable to the "Rhenan" model of capitalism, whether in its French, German or other versions, and a lot of my writing is about how the French and German economies are mostly unfairly criticised in the English language press.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes