Another power list

Fighting Talk have done their own top 50 power list. Amusing.

Oh and just been sent the NBR piss-take power list also. I have dropped from No 23 to No 257,429. Russell is No 335. Their list is after the break:

In tray
The National Business Review – 11 November 2005 : 22-02

The 2005 In Tray Power List: New Zealand’s top four million men and women of influence and how they got there.

2. DR MICHAEL CULLEN, finance minister: The country’s number two is also our number two, and for the best of reasons. From the tip of his pen and tongue come vast economic and political power. “Dr C” continues to be an outsize among New Zealand pols, combining the wit of an Oscar Wilde with the economic wisdom of an Alan Greenspan and the raffish charm of a late career Paul Newman. The 60-year-old titan also scores big points for having the courage to warn voters of imminent interest rate rises under a National government – something that thankfully could never happen under Labour. Last year: 2

5. ROD DONALD, erstwhile Greens co-leader: No figure since our last power survey has enjoyed such a huge rush of last-minute support as the late Greens co-leader. Indeed, as recently as last week most of our panellists agreed with the general Labour Party view that Rod represented “the stone-age left,” “mad policies no decent, hard-working Kiwi could ever embrace” and “an absolutely appalling taste in suspenders.” Along with everybody else, we now recognise that these assessments were completely incorrect and that Rod Donald was in fact one of the greatest politicians New Zealand has ever known. We will not see his like again. Last year: 753

28. DR MICHAEL BASSETT, historian: Duke University-educated historian and award-winning columnist, this noted communicator has possibly served on more power list panels than any living New Zealander. Last year: 33

100. ANITA MCNAUGHT, television presenter: In the country again this week as a keynote speaker at the Peace Foundation media awards, the British-born star’s influential love for “my precious, precious little Kiwis” continues to radiate powerfully through everything she says or does. Could New Zealanders ever hope for a more powerful ally on the world stage? Last year: 86

335. RUSSELL BROWN, blogger: The terrible race riots across France hold a particular resonance for our 335th place-getter, who not so long ago was himself the toast of the Parisian hip-hop scene. In his influential weblog this week, Russell, – or “50 Franc” as he preferred to be known back in his days as a gout-banging gallic gangsta – recalled his days driving around the hood with two Senegalese black men and a big ole bag of hooch shoved down the back car seat. Talk about wicked. Talk about influential. This 50 Franc dude ain’t one for bossin’, yo! Last year: 411

257,429. DAVID P FARRAR, political strategist: Once seen as the list’s rising star, the middle-aged Young Nat masterminded the country’s worst electorate campaign and therefore slips from his previous power slot gained by slowing down the internet. A confirmed bachelor, Farrar spends his spare time studying Polish culture, exploring the nooks and crannies of the city’s Botanic Gardens and enjoying the odd walk along the Antarctic shoreline. Last year: 23

3,958,870. MAVIS SMITH, community figure: Mavis put in a solid 12 months tending her roses, and celebrated her 80th birthday at the Cosmopolitan Club in Timaru. Slipped a little in this year’s ranking, however, on account of a bung hip. Last year: 3,954,998