Lenihan comes bottom of class in survey of European finance ministers
The Financial Times ranking of European finance ministers said despite Mr Lenihan being a “big hitter”, the public finances in Ireland are still in crisis and trade unions are in “militant mood”.
It said the upcoming budget will be the big test of whether the country is on the way to recovery.
France’s Christine Lagarde took the top spot with the newspaper saying she has become a star among world financial policymakers.
Ralph Atkins, bureau chief for the Financial Times said the good news for Mr Lenihan is the only way to go from here is up.
“That creates plenty of room for a comeback next year,” he said. “Many people do move around quite a lot.”
Mr Lenihan was in second-last spot last year. He did however leave some on the judging panel of economists and analysts divided. While Erik Nielsen of Goldman Sachs praised the minister’s bold measures to address the banking crisis, other judges found Ireland’s independent approach in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman’s, a bridge too far.
On his handling of the economy based on indicators such as tax takes, GDP and labour trends, Mr Lenihan was ranked last among the finance ministers.
On his political credibility, which looked at his leadership skills, the role he played during the financial crisis at a European level and how he is respected as a minister he ranked 14th out of 19. In a credibility test he was 16th out of 19.
The survey was expanded to cover non-eurozone countries such as Britain and Sweden.
Britain’s Alistair Darling was ranked seventh. The paper said he forced the British government to publish cautious forecasts for the economy and public finances rather than a more upbeat message. Peer Steinbrück, the German finance minister until last month, was ranked second.
