German chancellor Angela Merkel
“When cornered, Merkel can be tenacious but is risk averse and rarely creative.”
Guido Westerwelle (German foreign minister):"Arrogant . . . with little original to say."
Turkish prime ministerRecep Tayyip Erdogan: "Believes in God but doesn't trust Him . . . Surrounds himself with an iron ring of sycophantic (but contemptuous) advisers . . . knows little of politics beyond Ankara."
Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin:"Alpha Dog."
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev:"Plays Robin to Putin's Batman."
Zimbabwe ruler Robert Mugabe:shows "deep ignorance on economic issues" and believes that "his 18 doctorates give him the authority to suspend the laws of economics".
Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi:"feckless, vain and ineffective as a modern European leader" whose "frequent late nights and penchant for partying mean he does not get sufficient rest".
North Korea's Kim Jong Il:a "flabby old chap".
French president Nicolas Sarkozy:an "emperor with no clothes" with a "thin-skinned and authoritarian personal style".
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad:"Hitler".