The European Central Bank (ECB) is also against going soft on budget deficits: earlier this month, the ECB's president, Wim Duisenberg, criticised the euro's member governments for doing too little to cut their deficits, in particular by failing to pass structural economic reforms.

ECONOMIST: Chirac storms the stability pact | The

The call from leading medical bodies for a 20p-per-litre levy on soft drinks to be included in this year's Budget.

BBC: Magazine

And, for a third, some Republicans will argue that they did relatively badly on Tuesday because they had been too soft with Mr Clinton (ceding ground to him over the budget, for example) an argument which implies they should now emphasise and punish the president's failings.

ECONOMIST: A tiger by the tail | The

Given the limits to the use of military power, and the budget constraints and unintended consequences of using payments to buy support from other countries, soft power is critically important to the U.S. ability to influence events in the world.

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