Quotes

George W Bush, speaking in New York on 13 November 2008, prior to the G20 summit in Washington:
"While reforms in the financial sector are essential, the long-term solution to today's problems is sustained economic growth. And the surest path to that growth is free markets and free people."

Pierre Vimont, French Ambassador to the US, speaking on Radio 4's The World This Weekend, 16 November 2008, after the G20 summit:
"We have to go back to [...] the principles of capitalism if we want really to protect capitalism, because otherwise we could have [...] reaction from public opinion in all of our countries, public opinion that will be saying "Listen, this is not what we thought capitalism was", and [...] we could just start having social tensions, with people wanting to overthrow all this [the capitalist system]."

Tessa Jowell, the UK minister for the Olympics, speaking at a leisure industry dinner in London, 11 November 2008:
"Had we known what we know now, would we have bid for the Olympics? Almost certainly not."

Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, in a speech to the Social Market Foundation, 7 November 2008:
"I believe there is a demand, now, for cards. [A]s I go round the country, I regularly have people coming up to me and saying they don't want to wait that long. I now want to put that to the test and find a way to allow those people who want a card sooner to be able to pre-register their interest as early as the first few months of next year."