Michelle Obama. She gets head from the head of the free world.
I can assure you that Oprah is not a household name in non-English-speaking European countries at all. In some, there isn’t even the issue of her name coming up in American programs, because of the current tendency to substitute local household names for foreign ones on translation rather than keep a reference which would fall completely flat with the new audience.
And, seriously, Madonna?
I’d pick either Hillary Clinton or any of the female heads of government, there’s quite a few around. I get a chuckle of the fact that hearing “Clinton” on the news used to mean Bill (if it was Hillary, they specified) and nowadays it means Hillary (if it happens to be Bill, they specify).
Angela Merkel is Chancellor of Germany, the country with the fifth largest national economy in the world (and, to go by more old-fashioned views of “powerful”, has the sixth-largest defense budget).
For runners up, I’d include Julia Gillard (Prime Minister of Australia, an advanced, first world nation with a pretty strong military) and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (President of Argentina, the twenty-third largest national economy in the world and a major regional power).
Nancy fucking Grace isn’t even on the list. Sheesh.
Nancy Grace was included as a ‘catch all’ for TV talking heads that have strong social and political views and potentially reach a fairly significant audience. You could include Christiane Amanpour, Barbara Walters, Rachel Madow and several others in there too. No, they’re likely not going to have the reach some of the other candidates would but for the purposes of this discussion I figured they were worth considering as part of a thoughtful discussion rather than rejected in a brash dismissal. No matter.
Super-Mechaoprah.
Wen Jiabao’s wife ?
(You never know what’s going on behind the scenes in China)
The one with the biggest tits.
Angela Merkel. Not even a question.
I think one of the reasons that there have been disagreements is that no-one has specified how local or global the woman’s influence is.
If we narrow it down to my home, I’d say it has to be Mrs Nine. Globally, I’m not sure that there is a woman who is *that *powerful.
In Germany? Yes. The EC? Certainly. The USA, China, Japan, India? I don’t think so.
I don’t think the financial/economic or political policies of the EC, let alone just Germany influence the rest of the world that strongly. I suppose she could instigate another credit crunch or WWIII, but that’s stretching the imagination a bit.
The question doesn’t ask who the most powerful woman in China is. It asks who the most powerful woman in the world is. Merkel’s power may be confined largely to Germany, but she still has more of it than anyone else.
Put it this way: if you gave every powerful woman in the world a random objective, which one is most likely to achieve it? If it’s making a book a best-seller or drawing viewers, it’s Oprah. If it’s selling records, it’s Lady Gaga. Otherwise, it’s probably Merkel.
The question isn’t “Which woman has the most power everywhere in the world?” because no one is powerful everywhere. While Angela Merkel may not have much power in the US, China, Japan, or India, she arguably has more power in her sphere than any woman does in any of those other spheres.
To be the most powerful, you have to have more power over more people than anyone else. Angela Merkin is at least a very serious contender for that title.
Only real rivals are Hilary Clinton and Nancy Pelosi (and possibly the female Supreme Court justices), depending on how you rate having a subordinate but still powerful position in a more powerful state.
Pelosi has a great deal of power on paper, but seems disinclined (or unable) to exercise it, so I’m not sure she’s even a contender. Bit like the Queen.
Hilary can’t do anything without Obama’s explicit instructions, or at least agreement, so I don’t give her many points. The Supreme Court Justices have zero power (and less recognition) outside the US, whereas Merkel has some power of the affairs of other states.
Well, the list appears to be “most powerful American businesswomen”, with a couple of - American - exceptions.
The Queen is enormously influential, and has known dozens of prime ministers, presidents, kings, etc. over her 50-year reign. Although she exercises no actual legal power, she certainly interacts with these people, and is regarded as one of the world’s primary states-people. There aren’t many people on this planet who have known the number of world leaders she has, and have the experience of being in the position for 50 years.
It seems the list is measured in terms of money, though - how much money these people make for their respective organisations. Certainly there’s a prominent dollar figure in every entry.
I saw a movie with Angela Merkin once, and while she was very flexible and had amazing stamina, I’m not sure that really makes her the most powerful woman in the world.
But seriously, the answer is Angela Merkel. People often fail to appreciate how much sway the German economy has over the rest of Europe. Her actions, and the actions of her government, will have a lot of say in deciding whether Greece (and others) go belly-up and bring the whole global economy crashing down around them. And even without that, the sheer size of their economy and military makes her a pretty clear choice.
I’d say Hillary Clinton is No. 2. Being the lead diplomat of the most powerful nation on earth plus a global celebrity is a pretty potent combination.
I was just teasing. I just wanted to use my powerful smell joke. (I’m easily amused.)
Totally agree with you on these two. Oprah may be able to shift a load of books (in the US, specifically) but she can’t topple nations.
Germany is the European powerhouse, influencing 27 member countries. Angela gets my vote.
Another vote for Angela Merkel. To add that Germany is at least the second largest export nation: Exporter Nations.
That counts for a lot.
I can see the case for Angela Merkel.
It always stymies me when people vote for performers or celebrities in these sorts of polls (regardless of Bono, whom I’ve always found to be overrated).