One of its chief concerns is to ease the regulatory burden on small businesses, especially the Working Time Directive and other EU labour and welfare legislation.
"Certainly, in Britain's case, that remains reform of labour markets and welfare, investing in housing and transport and, above all, it means junking the rhetoric of austerity for an age of enterprise, " he added.
His wish to reform the country's labour laws and welfare benefits is largely shared by the opposition Christian Democrats (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU), while being opposed fiercely by elements of his own Social Democratic Party (SPD).
But those on the left are outraged by the idea of labour market reform and welfare cuts.
Instead, it went for highly regressive fiscal, labour-market and welfare reforms.
The party's deputy leader, Harriet Harman, said it was "not surprising" people were concerned about the welfare system and defended Labour's record on welfare reform.
BBC: Benefits: Revive 'principle of contribution' says Labour
Even France's conservative president, Nicolas Sarkozy, is unwilling to damage social cohesion (and risk trouble in the streets) by pushing hard for labour-market, pension and welfare reforms.
On the face of it then, it seems that there has been a convergence of the Conservatives' and Labour's welfare policies.
And some governments have tried only to change welfare systems and labour laws, which is necessary if unemployment is to be reduced but can also create insecurity and drive down consumer spending.
In fact, if Europe wants lower unemployment, it must deregulate, make its labour markets more flexible and trim welfare.
What really turns him on, apart from macroeconomic policy, are welfare and labour-market issues such as reducing child poverty and getting unemployed people back to work.
It is hard, for instance, to imagine the Christian Democrats agreeing to repeal their own modest welfare and labour reforms, and they also want far deeper cuts in taxes than do the Social Democrats.
This will make life complicated for Mr Persson, who in his second term will be under pressure from employers to liberalise Sweden's labour market and to shift the welfare budget from direct transfers to spending on health care and education.
Most entrepreneurs of all sizes, while moaning about Italy's high tax rates and welfare and labour problems, acknowledge that the centre-left governments of the past six years, especially Mr Prodi's, did take big steps towards liberalisation, though they failed to get this across in the election.
He said the party should "set out the direction of a future Labour government on questions like welfare and the economy and housing and so on".
The way would have been at least semi-clear for the sweeping reform of taxation, welfare and the labour market that high-cost Germany, with its unemployment rate of over 10%, badly needs.
With no leader vowing to alter course radically, the theme in 2012 will be muddling through, rather than a bold, competitiveness-raising reform of the welfare state and labour market that the country still sorely needs.
The sclerotic and unwieldy grand coalition found it hard to discuss, let alone implement, many of the reforms that Germany needs, including to its tax and welfare systems, and to health care and the labour market.
The subtler danger is that the leader's private agenda is diverting his government from addressing other problems that also need fixing from the economy to the welfare system and labour market but are not getting ministerial attention or parliamentary time.
At Holyrood, the Scottish Conservatives have also come under pressure from Labour and the SNP government, who have used controversial UK government welfare reforms and spending cuts to portray the Tories as uncaring.
Shadow work and pensions minister Stephen Timms said Labour would "get the welfare bill down by getting the country back to work, and making work pay".
The key structural economic reforms that need to be made in the European Union in particular reforms to welfare states, labour laws and pensions systems remain largely in the power of the individual members.
The Labour Party remained committed to the welfare state and high levels of public spending up until the late 1980s.
Unless they stay longer at work, it will need great numbers of immigrants maybe 1m a year, say some studies both to keep up its labour force and to avoid a drastic drop in welfare contributions and tax revenues.
And not just on the left, but entrenched inside the machinery of the welfare state, which is Labour's proudest monument, and the attitudes of its workers, who are among Labour's most reliable supporters.
In both places, a tightening of welfare rules and an easing of labour-market restrictions can take the credit.
Perhaps this is really why relative poverty is New Labour's favourite measure, putting the health and welfare of its citizens before the interests of Bill Gates and his millionaire co-workers should they decide to emigrate if Janet Reno gets her way.
In brief, we need to move to a system that (1) makes room for more flexible contracts in the labour market, (2) has a minimal welfare net for workers who are out of work, and (3) resolves labour market disputes more quickly.
BBC: NEWS | South Asia | Why India's labour laws are a problem
In the longer term, however, it is still more vital that Germany, along with most of Europe, attacks the high taxes, overgenerous welfare benefits, onerous labour-market restrictions and red tape that are choking growth in output and jobs.
Although the Labour Party is now committed to low level of taxation and welfare spending, it has since 1997 nevertheless used fiscal policy to halt and even slightly reverse the growing inequality that characterised the 18 years of Conservative Government.
应用推荐