But he says that he sees Mr Ozawa as a radical reformer who can build bridges with opposition parties, such as the LDP.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s leadership challenge

As Mr Blair's all-but-anointed successor, Mr Brown is now doing his utmost to portray himself as an ardent public service reformer who can also be relied upon always to put security before airy-fairy worries about civil liberties.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

Votes matter more, and Conrad who supports many farm subsidies and voted to extend all the Bush-era tax cuts last December can be a situational fiscal reformer (not unlike other deficit hawks).

FORBES: Sen. Kent Conrad Builds a Case Against Tax Subsidies

Mr Kim Young Sam, too, can claim to be a reformer, ending the use of fictitious names in financial transactions, a change that has enabled the present government to probe the campaign-finance scandal.

ECONOMIST: South Korea

On the positive side, Mr Bush can claim to be a genuine reformer in the vital matter of education.

ECONOMIST: Is he ready? | The

Perhaps, now that he is rid of most of his legal troubles, he can start to think more about a place in history as a great reformer and less about staying out of jail.

ECONOMIST: Italy's election

Because hydrogen can clean the exhaust right from a cold engine start, the plasma reformer method is 20% to 50% more efficient at reducing NOx than other clean-diesel technologies, allowing less unburned fuel to pass through in the process.

FORBES: Clearing the Air

Lord McNally described himself to peers as a "legal reformer" and said he tried to make progress "where I can".

BBC: Legal Aid Bill part two

It is sad to see a once-energetic reformer like John Engler playing such base, destructive politics with kids who need every break they can get to escape the cycle of poverty.

FORBES: Fact and Comment

The question is whether that opportunity can be seized or whether the humbling of Mr Chubais, whom many see as the only reformer capable of meeting the challenge, will delay Russia's deliverance, possibly for years.

ECONOMIST: Is Russia going wrong? | The