TREMONTI VOTED FIFTH BEST FINANCE MINISTER IN EU

TREMONTI VOTED FIFTH BEST FINANCE MINISTER IN EU

(ANSA) - Rome, November 17 - Italy's Giulio Tremonti was voted the fifth best finance minister in the European Union on Tuesday by London business daily, the Financial Times.

Ranked against counterparts in the 19 biggest economies in the European Union, Tremonti's strong showing derived from his handling of Italy's ''notoriously wayward public finances'' during the global economic downturn.

''In spite of many domestic political conflicts, he has improbably burnished Italy's fiscal reputation...while resisting pressure to spend his way out of recession or slash taxes''.

The paper said the greatest indicator of his success were third quarter figures showing that Italy had emerged from 15 months of recession.

Earlier this month, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Italy's economy had come out of September showing the strongest signs of recovery in the 30-nation group for the second month in a row.

Pointing to Tremonti's enduring popularity among voters, the Financial Times tipped the economy minister as a possible successor to Premier Silvio Berlusconi.

At the head of Financial Time's pack was French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, the first woman to take charge of a Group of Seven economy.

She was followed by Germany's Peer Steinbruck, who stepped down three weeks ago, Belgian Didier Reynders who has held the job for ten years running and Sweden's financial chief Anders Borg, a key figure during his country's presidency of the EU council.

At the bottom of Financial Times rankings was Ireland's Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, judged harshly for his failure to contain the country's banking crisis.