Women in power

The International Charlemagne Prize of the city of Aachen was given to Angela Merkel on May 1, leading Nathalie Lacube to survey the state of women in politics. "Nicolas Sarkozy's touching words of praise to Ms Merkel on May 1 demonstrated more than just the revival of Franco-German friendship. Awarding this year's Charlemagne Prize to the chancellor was an act of recognition of the competence of a female state leader. ... The number of women ministers in the world is on the rise. In Spain female ministers outnumber the males. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi - who no one suspects of feminism - could name four women ministers to his next government in the coming days. ... But if there are many stars in the galaxy of female heads of state, it's a different story in business. ... Nevertheless, 2008 could be the first year in history when a woman, Hillary Clinton, becomes president of the world's major superpower."

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