Forbes has an interesting list of "the world's 100 most powerful women". Number one on the list is:

German chancellor Angela Merkel.

I am really glad to see that. When she first came to power, it was not at all clear how well she would handle her job as a chancellor, between parties that couldn't disagree more on lots of key issues, and on an international stage that has shown to be more complicated to deal with than ever. And while she had proven her determination for power for decades before, as she stepped out of the shadow of former chancellor Helmut Kohl (whose protégé she once was) and established her own political reputation, that of course didn't guarantee her success once she actually made it into office.

Since then, Merkel has done (almost) surprisingly well, both in interior politics as well as internationally, and has, in my opinion, proven to be a good leader of one of the strongest economies in the world.

That being said, Germany still has a long way to go in equal opportunity for women: The wage gaps between male and female employees in Germany are still among the widest in Europe. We'll see how efforts like Elterngeld will affect this. Still, having a woman chancellor doesn't magically solve all your social problems, just in case you were wondering...

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