##ptive fate : why bother fighting if everything is going down the drain anyway? the other is to pull yourself together and ask : how can i get into the right kind of shape to face future challenges? there is certainly no doubt that action is preferable to resignation. even if i do not share the diagnosis of being the " sick man " of europe, it is a wake - up call. and it is launching a societal debate – including the one that's happening right here and right now. german industry and our society can adapt to a changing environment. this is something they have proven time and again. the staking out of clear and reliable political framework conditions can be supportive of this. i am sure that the current debate will help make our country stronger and fitter for the future. in my opinion, germany is healthy. but it faces challenges. footnote : 1. see deutsche bundesbank ( 2023 ), germany as a business location : selected aspects of current dependencies and medium - term challenges, monthly report, september, pp. 15 - 35. 3 / 3 bis - central bankers'speeches

axel a weber : 7th bundesbank lecture 2010 – introductory remarks introductory remarks by professor axel a weber, president of the deutsche bundesbank, at the 7th bundesbank lecture 2010, berlin, 14 september 2010. * 1. * * introduction ladies and gentlemen i am very pleased to welcome you to this year ’ s bundesbank lecture, which is being held at the old town hall in the very heart of berlin. the old town hall was built between 1902 and 1911 as an extension of the “ red town hall ”, which is just a stone ’ s throw from here. from 1949 to 1990, the old town hall was the seat of the council of ministers of the then gdr, and, in 1990, the unification treaty between the two german states was negotiated in this very building. today, it serves as the seat of the senator for the interior of the federal state of berlin. the room we are in is the “ bear hall ”, named after the statue of a bronze bear in the middle of the hall. this statue – the bear is berlin ’ s heraldic symbol – had been exiled to east berlin ’ s zoo for four decades before it returned in 2001. it is in these historic surroundings that we have gathered for the 7th bundesbank lecture. i am particularly grateful that mr mark carney, governor of the bank of canada, will be our speaker today. mark, my special welcome to you and thanks a lot for accepting our invitation. it is an honour to have you here. let me say a few brief words about both this event and our speaker for today. 2. on the event when we established the bundesbank lecture in 2004 we had two objectives in mind : the first objective was to raise the bundesbank ’ s profile further in the german capital. the second aim was to provide a high - level forum for public debate on economic and monetary policy issues. especially this second objective seems to have gained in importance given our turbulent times and the intellectual uncertainty they have provoked. consequently, we are happy to look back on a long line of very distinguished speakers – including, of course, mark carney, but also alan greenspan, jean - claude trichet, tommaso padoa - schioppa, ben bernanke, mario draghi and dominique strauss - kahn. 3. on the subject it is no surprise that the financial crisis has dominated this event during the recent past. we have just entered the fourth year of the crisis