Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, cast aside her image as European champion of fiscal discipline yesterday as she launched her re-election bid with a manifesto calling for higher public investment and €15bn in tax cuts over four years.

"The question is: How can we ensure Germany emerges stronger once the crisis is over and the cards have been reshuffled in the world," she told delegates of her Christian Democratic Union gathered in Berlin to endorse the manifesto. "The answer is we need growth."