Newsweek: Cowen one of world's best leaders

AckwelFoley

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0818/cowenb.html

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has been listed as one of the top ten leaders in the world by Newsweek magazine.

In its piece 'Go to the top of the class', the magazine says Mr Cowen is 'The Fiscal Taskmaster'.

The magazine says that despite Ireland's 'once roaring economy' being 'staggered by the banking crisis'; unemployment at 13%; rising emigration; and the money markets ranking the Irish economy 'not far behind Greece on the list of Europe's big-time losers', Mr Cowen and 'his able finance minister Brian Lenihan are prescribing harsh medicine'.

They article, by reporter Christopher Dickey, says that the Government has 'pushed through austerity packages drastic enough to win the admiration of the international community, raised taxes, and slashed some public salaries by more than 10%.

However, according to the report 'the Irish aren't showing much gratitude' as Mr Cowen's popularity rating has 'plunged to a mere 18%'.

Despite this, the report says, 'there's some hope that his [Mr Cowen] government's unpopular measures will be rewarded in the long run' as surveys suggest that Irish consumer confidence is on the rise again, and 'the economy notched up modest growth in the first quarter of 2010.'

Other world leaders included on the top ten list are the UK's David Cameron, France's Nicolas Sarkozy, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

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