German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the world’s most powerful woman, according to the latest ranking by Forbes magazine.
Forbes said "the storm is not over" for Mrs. Arroyo, but credited her for the "successful lowering of the budget deficit and her work increasing Philippine electronics exports."
"It’s been a tumultuous tenure for President Arroyo," Forbes said, adding that 59-year-old US-trained economist, "faces continuous calls to step down before her term ends in 2010; plans for impeachment proceedings seem to perennially loom."
But, "the controversy overshadows Arroyo’s successful lowering of the budget deficit and her work increasing Philippine electronics exports," it added.
Mrs. Arroyo is the only Filipina on the powerhouse list, and one of only two Southeast Asians, the other being Suu Kyi.
Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye told The STAR that "it is an honor for the country to be included in this powerhouse lineup of prominent and respected women. This recognition reflects not just on the President but on our people as well who are now more empowered to change their lives for the better due to our stronger currency and more vibrant economy."
Presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor, for his part, said "GMA (the President’s initials) is one of the few remaining women leaders we have in the world. Her competence and capability are much admired not only by media but by world leaders as well."
Mrs. Arroyo, once described by Time magazine as the "Iron Lady of Asia," has stared down several attempts to unseat her from the presidency since she assumed office in 2001 and last month survived a second impeachment try against her. Despite allegations of election fraud and corruption against her and her family, observers say the President has retained a steady grip on power.
Mrs. Arroyo has flexed her muscle by giving marching orders to the military to wipe out the insurgency in two years and ordering early this year a calibrated preemptive response course of action to prevent militants from marching in the streets and storming the presidential palace. She has issued a controversial measure, Executive Order 464 banning members of her Cabinet and other ranking Executive positions from appearing in legislative inquiries without presidential clearance. Her allies dominate Congress.
Others on the list included Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet, US Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sonia Gandhi, India’s National Congress Party president, TV host and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey and US First Lady Laura Bush.
Under Merkel’s leadership, Europe’s third largest economy, stagnant for five years, is showing signs of revival and grew by two percent this year, the magazine said on its website. Merkel’s economic restructuring plan has resulted in a huge rise in consumer confidence and she has made a big push to ramp up US investment, using her recent visits to the US to showcase potential markets and promote research in Germany.
But the German leader, who oversees a fragile coalition government with her main rivals, still has a tough fight ahead, with approval ratings down to 56 percent from 80 percent earlier this year, the magazine said.
Mrs. Arroyo was unanimously selected for the post by members of the coordinating bureau of the Nonaligned Movement at a meeting Friday in New York, the Philippine News Agency said, quoting a report from Ambassador Lauro Baja Jr., Manila’s permanent representative at the United Nations.
As a vice chairwoman, the President will have the opportunity to push Philippine initiatives in energy, interfaith cooperation, debt-for-equity, migration and humanitarian assistance during natural disasters, Baja was quoted as saying.
"The President will also help guide the direction of the discussions leading to a revitalized NAM in the face of prevailing challenges not only to international peace and security but also economic development and the promotion of human dignity," Baja said.
The Sept. 11-16 summit in Havana will be one of Mrs. Arroyo’s stops on a foreign trip this month that will also take her to Finland, Britain, Belgium and Hawaii. — With Aurea Calica, AP