NEWSWEEK magazine has defended its selection of Taoiseach Brian Cowen as one of the top 10 leaders in the world.

Eyebrows were raised in Ireland last week when it emerged that the respected international magazine heaped praise on Cowen and labeled him "The Fiscal Taskmaster".

Newsweek's Jan Angilella told the Sunday Tribune that even though Cowen is unpopular at home his fiscal measures have won respect abroad.

She said that the article 'Go to the top of the class', which placed Cowen in the same bracket as leaders such as China's Wen Jiabao and France's Nicolas Sarkozy, "isn't a comprehensive profile of each leader".

"We looked at leaders worldwide who are facing tough economic and political environments, many of whom are making unpopular decisions, both fiscally and socially. While many of the measures that world leaders are taking right now are indeed controversial, some countries seem better poised to bounce back in the long run, and Ireland qualified for that criteria.

"We noted in the piece, running a country is a thankless job and Cowen is unpopular at home. However, abroad, his fiscal measures seem to have won some respect, and Ireland may be starting to see the glimmers of a turnaround – consumer confidence is rising, the economy is showing signs of modest growth."

Newsweek's article said that despite Ireland's economy being "staggered by the banking crisis", Cowen and "his able finance minister Brian Lenihan are prescribing harsh medicine.

"They've pushed through austerity packages drastic enough to win the admiration of the international community… but the Irish aren't showing much gratitude – Cowen's ratings have plunged to a mere 18%, and his Fianna Fáil party can expect a drubbing in the 2012 national elections. Still, there's some hope that his government's unpopular measures will be rewarded in the long run: surveys suggest that Irish consumer confidence is on the rise again, and the economy notched up modest growth in the first quarter of 2010."