Queen Elizabeth II says the new coalition government's priority will to be to reduce Britain's deficit and restore growth to the struggling economy. Amid pageantry and pomp, the monarch formally opened the new parliamentary session Tuesday by outlining the new government's austere plans, the Associated Press reported. It is Britain's first coalition government since World War II, and resulted from a pact between the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats after elections produced no majority winner. The government has drawn up an 18-month program that includes steps to reduce Britain's record 163-billion-pound ($235 billion) budget deficit. The queen's speech has been written for her by government officials.
