A few people have asked why there are 27, not 20, spouses pictured in the G-20 wives photograph I wrote about earlier. The answer is that a number of international leaders who are not heads of state are participating in the meeting. They are:
- EUROPEAN COUNCIL - President, Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek
- ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS - Chair, Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
- EUROPEAN COMMISSION - President Jose Manuel Barroso
- FINANCIAL STABILITY FORUM - Chairman Mario Draghi
- INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND - Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn of France
- NEW PARTNERSHIP FOR AFRICA'S DEVELOPMENT - Chair, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi
- UNITED NATIONS - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea
- WORLD BANK - President Robert Zoellick of the United States
- WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION - Director-General Pascal Lamy of France
In addition to the two missing male spouses, France's Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is also absent, as several of my eagle-eyed male acquaintances noticed. Bruni-Sarkozy actually was in London last week to see her husband address Parliament, but went home before the G-20 got fully underway. That didn't stop the tabloid Daily Mirror from greeting the Sarkozys' arrival by publishing this (NSFW) nude photo of the French first madame, a former model. --Dana Goldstein
