Move over Obama, eat dust David Cameron, “OXI” Alexis Tsipras… Portugal’s PM Pedro Passos Coelho has pipped all these dashing debonair counterparts on the international scene to 7th place in a world ranking on “hottest heads of state and government”.
North American voters have risen to the challenge of a website whose raison d’être lies is the contention that “for too long, citizens of the world have suffered under the tyranny of unattractive leaders”
Hottestheadsofstate.com explains that by ranking the world’s leaders, it hopes to “shame the citizens of countries with unattractive leaders into rising up and staging coups or something”.
Votes have been taken against photos that in a number of cases appear to be seriously out of date.
Portugal’s PSD PM’s shot shows a Passos Coelho with a much thicker head of hair than he is sporting after four years at the helm, and a face untroubled by the strains of power.
A quick scroll through the world’s “hottest” also shows a Vladimir Putin from many decades ago, in a white vest (position No 32).
Thus, chronology is far from paramount at “hottestheadsofstate.com” which advises: “If you disagree with our rankings, you can voice your opinion on Twitter or by leaving a comment at the bottom of this page. Like any good sham democracy, we will take your comments under advisement.”
Nonetheless, it’s a line-up that will raise a laugh even in these dark days of plunging currencies and migrant invasions. Even President Cavaco Silva gets a ranking (72), with the least hot leader of all (position 199) being North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong-un and the world’s hottest being the King of Bhutan, sporting a photo that again looks like it was taken years ago.
For Passos Coelho, limbering up for votes that will be much more crucial for his immediate future, it’s a nice bit of positive publicity, if only to show that pretty faces in Portugal can go as far as less attractive ones.
