WOMEN ON TOP

by MONITOR
THE business magazine Forbes reported yesterday that Condoleezza Rice has been deposed from first place in its ranking of the 100 most powerful women in the world by the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. It seems an odd judgement because only this week the German press has been declaring that Frau Merkel's honeymoon with the German people is over; her opinion poll ratings have been slipping and are now generally below 50 per cent approval. It is actually quite difficult to think of what has influenced Forbes' assessment, although it is true to say that over Iran and the war on terrorism Merkel has established Germany almost as an “honorary” permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. However, at home she presides over a far from stable coalition.
We need weep no tears over Dr Rice's demotion to second place after two years in the top spot. There is no doubting her power as probably President Bush's most trusted cabinet member and she has shown a welcome degree of independence from White House thinking. However, her ill-judged comment about “the birth of a new Middle East” at the time of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon may have harmed her standing.
In passing we should note that Britain's new Foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, ranks a surprising 29th, that in her 80th year Queen Elizabeth has risen to 46th position from 75th last year, and that Cherie Blair has disappeared from the top 100 list altogether.