Favorite EU PM

[Platypus]

actuaklly, change that to unless the only other option is to betray family or your nation, etc.

[Silent Hunter]

Rop of Slovenia (until he got defeated) seemed quite nice.

[minionofmidas]

suicide is never the right thing to do!

I put that somewhat harshly (also, let me point out that I was only referring to presidents, PMs and the like, to really major scandals, and to people who are actually guilty).
Obviously there are some good reasons why suicide is/may be not the right thing to do - such as concern for your family, especially if you have children.
I don't consider suicides to be morally reprehensible in any way, though. I believe it's within a person's rights.
And I do consider the behaviour of many disgraced politicians - not even to speak of corporate crooks - quite reprehensible.

[M]

Silvio Berlusconi. Great name, that.

[Keystone Phil]

Silvio Berlusconi. Great name, that.

I thought I was the only Berlusconi fan on the forum. Wow.

[Julien]

Silvio Berlusconi. Great name, that.

I thought I was the only Berlusconi fan on the forum. Wow.

Berlusconi has provided for some funny moments, but he is a bad leader. Italy isn't exactly prosperous right now.

[Keystone Phil]

Silvio Berlusconi. Great name, that.

I thought I was the only Berlusconi fan on the forum. Wow.

Berlusconi has provided for some funny moments, but he is a bad leader. Italy isn't exactly prosperous right now.

When are the next elections, who is the leader of the Olive Tree Coalition right now (is it still that joke Rutelli?), and what are the chances of Berlusconi getting re-elected?

[Math]

In 2006. But the left coalition is divided between Rutelli and Prodi.
Approval rate on December 2004.
Gianfranco Fini 51,5%
Romano Prodi 44,5%
Massimo D'Alema 41,2%
Francisco Rutelli 40,6%
Silvio Berlusconi 25,8%
Umberto Bossi 18,2%

[Keystone Phil]

In 2006. But the left coalition is divided between Rutelli and Prodi.
Approval rate on December 2004.
Gianfranco Fini 51,5%
Romano Prodi 44,5%
Massimo D'Alema 41,2%
Francisco Rutelli 40,6%
Silvio Berlusconi 25,8%
Umberto Bossi 18,2%

Wow that is terrible. And Berlusconi is only ahead of Bossi by 8 points! Ahhh!

I'm going to say that Prodi is probably better than Rutelli so as long as Rutelli doesn't get in, I'll probably be happy.

[Jens]

I'm not actually a huge fan of any politicians, especially not ones who make it to key leadership positions, But Schroeder and Perrson immediately spring to mind as relatively good.

Yea, me neither. Although my choices, if I have to pick, run towards Zapatero and Verhofstadt - but that's maybe just because I've seen more of Schröder and can't fairly compare him to the others.

Verhofstad would be good if he had not coligated with the socialists. He's second on my list, but Rassmussen coligated with teh conservatives, and therefore he gets my first.

Funny, that you like Fogh that much, Bono, especially when looking at your political test scores. Fogh and his party, Venstre, Danmarks liberale parti (Left, Denmarks Liberal Party) is in government with Conservative People's Party, but they don't have a majority and are dependent on Danish People's Party, a strange mix between ultra nationalist, fundamentalist protestants and classic welfare social democrats.
The economic policies of the VK government has esssentially been quite social democratic, since the majority of the People's Diet supports such a policy, but their cultural and social politics has been a "fight" against the cultural-radicals what Americans would call liberals, a group that VK claims has controlled the medias, arts and culture too long.
But if you like the fellar, fine by me. I like Persson eventhough I think that the Swedes are being too moral about a lot of things.

Oh, and everybody is talking about an election in Denmark, perhaps to be amounced tomorrow!!!

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Sweden's answer to John Prescott of course! :-)

[Umengus]

If a highranking politician is implicated in a major scandal, suicide is the morally right thing to do.
Sounds like a good man.

it was not a major scandal... just a stupid silly thing...

[Umengus]

I'm not actually a huge fan of any politicians, especially not ones who make it to key leadership positions, But Schroeder and Perrson immediately spring to mind as relatively good.

Yea, me neither. Although my choices, if I have to pick, run towards Zapatero and Verhofstadt - but that's maybe just because I've seen more of Schröder and can't fairly compare him to the others.

Verhofstadt, "baby tatcher"... I'm belgian and I can say that it's not a very good PM, overal after his failure to become the EU commission president. But to be honest, it's not even the baddest.

[Gustaf]

I'm not actually a huge fan of any politicians, especially not ones who make it to key leadership positions, But Schroeder and Perrson immediately spring to mind as relatively good.

Eh? They're both opportunistic cowards with no real back-bone.

[Mr. Pink]

Bertie Ahern

[Storebought]

I'm not actually a huge fan of any politicians, especially not ones who make it to key leadership positions, But Schroeder and Perrson immediately spring to mind as relatively good.

Eh? They're both opportunistic cowards with no real back-bone.

If one were a cynic one could say the same for every leader of an EU nation...

[Gustaf]

I'm not actually a huge fan of any politicians, especially not ones who make it to key leadership positions, But Schroeder and Perrson immediately spring to mind as relatively good.

Eh? They're both opportunistic cowards with no real back-bone.

If one were a cynic one could say the same for every leader of an EU nation...

Yes, but that wouldn't be entirely true. Blair for instance has taken huge political risks in defending the Iraq war the way he has. Chirac has, after a fashion been kind of bold in his policies, disastrous as they may be. But Persson and Schröder suffer from an almost complete lack of principles, intellectual capacity and respect for political opponentns and the electoral system (ok, the latter parts are directed at my own PM, have no idea about Schröder really...)

[minionofmidas]

Schröder certainly has shown much more backbone, and taken more risks, than anybody else in Europe over Iraq.
Which is very much typical of the man...he's highly opportunistic, jumps at chances to ingrate himself with the voting public and is not at all risk-averse in that.
I don't love him, btw.