Urpilainen moved up three notches after coming in seventh last year. The ranking rewards ministers whose economies enjoy balanced growth and solid public finances.
Jutta Urpilainen has one of the toughest approaches towards rescue bailouts for troubled eurozone states, according to the paper, which also says she has earned a reputation in Brussels of being a hardhead. The Financial Times writes that Urpilainen’s euroscepticism has grown with the nationalistic Finns Party’s rise to power. This shift has helped her Social Democratic Party retain its support base, according to the British paper.
Germany’s Wolfgang Schäuble topped the list this year while Spanish finance minister Luis de Guindos received the lowest marks. According to the paper, the Spaniard has “yet to convince economists and financial markets he can turn round the country’s economy.” Greece’s FM Jannis Stournaras ranked just one notch above de Guindos.
FT’s jury praised Schäuble for playing "a very constructive role in clearing the way for the European Central Bank to act as the euro’s ultimate backstop."
The silver went to Anders Borg of Sweden while Poland’s finance chief Jacek Rostowski took the bronze.
