Fortune magazine is conducting an online poll in which they ask readers to help them identify the worst world leaders,  and Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is currently at the top of the list.

Most Michiganders would be surprised to find that Snyder, even before the international controversy over the Flint water crisis, would qualify as one of the world’s leaders.

But in the current list of 19 people, the governor is tops in the overall category of those who “serve as great examples — of how not to lead.”

Here is the introduction offered by Forbes:

“The past year or so has produced an avalanche of bungles, failures, and questionable decisions among CEOs and politicians—many so distinctive or outsize that they merit special acknowledgement.”

The Forbes folks have Snyder earning the “Don’t Blame Me, I’m Just The Governor” award. This is their slightly hyperbolic summary of Snyder’s follies:

Snyder and his team sparked national outrage after an attempt at cost-savings left the impoverished city of Flint, Mich., with a lead-tainted water supply that is being blamed for illness and brain damage, especially among its youngest residents. Called to testify before Congress, Snyder, who touted his competence in his gubernatorial campaign, labeled the experience the “most humbling” of his life—then attempted to shift blame. He described it as a “failure of government” and blasted the Environmental Protection Agency for its “dumb and dangerous” rules on allowable amounts of lead in water systems.

Certainly this is a black mark for Michigan, especially when one considers the hefty competition.

The online poll’s 18 other leading contenders for worst leader is a rogues gallery of sleazy CEOS – in government and the private sector:

  • Martin Shkreli, who hatched a plan to purchase a company that sold anti-AIDS drugs and sell them at astronomical mark-ups, was near the top of the list. After that he was subject to national ridicule, indicted for financial funny-business, and lost his job.
  • Volkswagen’s top executive was targeted for overseeing a plan to have company engineers install software that manipulated air-quality emissions on about 11 million diesel vehicles.
  • Also earning jeers are the leaders of the international soccer association, FIFA, who were banned from the sport for eight years after it was revealed that they engaged in a scandal of epic proportions.
  • The prize for Most Breathtakingly Craven Political Move of the Year went to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie after he leveled numerous blasts at Donald Trump and then endorsed the Republican presidential frontrunner.
  • Highly unpopular Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was also cited for his craven behavior after it appeared that his administration blatantly withheld evidence that a Chicago police officer had allegedly murdered an unarmed man.
  • The co-CEOs of the Chipotle Mexican food chain were chosen for their attempts to dodge responsibility for numerous instances of foodborne illnesses at their restaurants, with contaminants ranging from E.coli to salmonella and the Norovirus.
  • Top executives at the favorite charity for veterans among Trump and other celebrities, the high-profile Wounded Warrior Project, received infamous recognition for their firings after a list of internal perks and shameless spending was revealed by the media. The nonprofit had frittered away more than 40 percent of donations on elaborate salaries, first-class airfare, lavish conferences and overhead expenses.

 

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