President Boris Tadic

• This week’s third place is awarded to the Indian government, which avoided having to call an early election after winning a confidence vote this week.  After weeks of negotiations and days of feverish debate, the government secured 275 votes against 256 for the opposition.  The poll has raised questions about the nature of democracy in India, with deputies being let out of jail and hospital to vote, and members of one party even alleging that they were offered cash in an attempt to influence the outcome.  Despite this, the government will be immensely relieved, and has vowed to press ahead with its reform agenda.
• Second place goes to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.  Despite having been elected on a platform of tax cuts and tough immigration policies, recent weeks have seen the three-time premier devote himself to another policy area: judicial reform.  The upper house this week passed a controversial justice law of direct benefit to the prime minister. All current court cases involving offences punishable by less than ten years imprisonment will be frozen (including two involving Berlusconi); the country's top four officials (including Berlusconi) will obtain immunity from prosecution; and the judiciary's investigative powers will be cut… along with their salaries.
• Serbian President Boris Tadic wins this week’s masterstroke. The capture of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic is a major victory for Tadic and the pro-European Democratic party he leads.  With EU countries divided on the issue of Kosovo, Serbia’s fugitive war crimes suspects have been one of the major hindrances to Serbia’s accession aspirations.   With EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana expressing confidence that Serbia could now be declared in "full cooperation" with the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, Belgrade now expects a 'green light' for its candidacy.