AFP, New York :
Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first sitting US president to slide out of the top two power rankings as published by Forbes, beaten not just by Vladimir Putin but also Angela Merkel.
The magazine published its seventh annual ranking just weeks after Putin opened a new front in the Syria war by conducting air strikes, then Putin hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow.
“As Obama enters the final year of his presidency, it’s clear his influence is shrinking, and it’s a bigger struggle than ever to get things done,” Forbes wrote.
“At home, his approval ratings are perpetually stuck under 50 percent; abroad, he’s outshined by Merkel in Europe, and outmaneuvered by Putin in the Middle East.”
In August, Putin’s domestic approval rating soared to 87 percent, the highest level in six years, according to an independent polling center.
His intervention in Syria has seen Putin seek to muscle his way back to global influence after months of Western isolation over Ukraine.
“Putin continues to prove he’s one of the few men in the world powerful enough to do what he wants-and get away with it,” said Forbes.
Barack Obama on Wednesday became the first sitting US president to slide out of the top two power rankings as published by Forbes, beaten not just by Vladimir Putin but also Angela Merkel.
The magazine published its seventh annual ranking just weeks after Putin opened a new front in the Syria war by conducting air strikes, then Putin hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow.
“As Obama enters the final year of his presidency, it’s clear his influence is shrinking, and it’s a bigger struggle than ever to get things done,” Forbes wrote.
“At home, his approval ratings are perpetually stuck under 50 percent; abroad, he’s outshined by Merkel in Europe, and outmaneuvered by Putin in the Middle East.”
In August, Putin’s domestic approval rating soared to 87 percent, the highest level in six years, according to an independent polling center.
His intervention in Syria has seen Putin seek to muscle his way back to global influence after months of Western isolation over Ukraine.
“Putin continues to prove he’s one of the few men in the world powerful enough to do what he wants-and get away with it,” said Forbes.
