THE HAND that rocks the cradle rules the world.

The old saying is being tested in at least three major countries.

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has just announced his cabinet, which includes four new women ministers.

They are all strikingly good looking, including former show girl (and law degree holder) Mara Carfagna, 32, who is now Equal Opportunities Minister.

The average age of the new cabinet is 50, remarkably low for Italy; but the average age of the women ministers - Mr Berlusconi calls them 'le bambine' (the kids) - is 34.

There are even more women ministers in Spain, where prime minister Zapatero last month introduced a cabinet in which women outnumber men for the first time ever.

What's more, one of them will be giving birth soon.

NO GIMMICK

The Spanish appointment is not just a gimmick. The women are there not for their beauty (though some are stunners) but for their intellect and their know-how as working politicians.

At the start of his second term, their PM hopes that their fresh approach will help him get the economy out of the doldrums

It may be just a coincidence, but the bling-bling president of France Nicolas Sarkozy, possibly influenced by the charismatic debut of his bride Carla, fulfilled an election pledge for greater parity between men and women by appointing seven female ministers in a 15-strong cabinet.

These include Rachida Dati, the minister for justice; Christine Lagarde, the minister of finance, and Michele Alliot-Marie, minister of the interior.

They are all clever, astute and - as luck would have it - extremely photogenic.

French journalists, well aware of their president's predilection for surrounding himself with gorgeous females, have dubbed them 'the Sarkozettes'.

But Mr Sarkozy's pledge to bring gender parity into government has been more than just window dressing.

His female ministers not only come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, often from working-class, immigrant stock like justice minister Rachida Dati, they also represent a new type of politics.

A gamble? Monsieur le President doesn't think so.

But women on top have problems their male predecessors never had to face.

Neither MrSarkozy nor 39-year-old higher-education minister Valerie Pecresse had anticipated a petition, signed by several members of her own staff and presented to her with a stiff formality reserved for the weightiest matters of state.

The petition had nothing to do with the thornier issues surrounding her ministry. Instead, it noted that Mademoiselle only ever wore trousers and that her employees would prefer it if she made the occasional effort to sport a more fetching sartorial get-up.

'But I do now try from time to time to put a skirt on', the minister admitted to a journalist.

The Spanish ladies have had little time to make themselves at home in their sumptuous offices, but 37-year-old Carme Chacon did not let her pregnancy deter her from flying to Afghanistan to encourage the Spanish troops fighting the Taliban.

She took her gynaecologist along, just in case.

She wore desert boots and a maternity smock and her soldiers gave her a great welcome. Probably in the not unreasonable belief that a woman who was about to bring a new life into the world would be more likely than some male tough guy to look after theirs.

The women ministers in three of the leading states in the European Union will undoubtedly influence and scrutinise policies. For instance, how will Senora Chacon, who proudly declared herself an 'eco-pacifist' influence defence decisions? Hmmmm. Reality v principles: A difficult choice for a woman with maternity on her mind.

Of course, Asia is well used to women in high office. The army had to step in to separate the 'battling begums' of Bangladesh. Other legends include Mrs Indira Gandhi of India, MrsBandaranaike, of Sri Lanka and her daughter Chandrika, who both served as prime minister.

OVERCOMING SCEPTICISM

And as I know from my own experience, a woman in charge of a country has to overcome the scepticism that she might let her emotions influence her judgment. Coupled with that, Mrs Margaret Thatcher had the handicap of being a very attractive woman in her younger days, a fact that fuelled the scoffers.

As editor of a big daily newspaper in England, I got to know Mrs Thatcher quite well. I was a frequent guest at Number Ten, and I lunched and dined with the PM many times. In our discussions, she always called me Neville - but I couldn't bring myself to address that formidable woman as other than 'Prime Minister'.

I often saw her fuss and fret over the well-being of her staff (whom she drove relentlessly . But that human touch didn't stop her from taking the life-or-death decision to assemble a rag-bag fleet and despatch it to liberate the Falkland Islands from the Argentinian invaders. And she knew all too well what a disaster it could have been if she had lost that bold gamble.

I know for a fact that she worried constantly about 'our boys' who were in peril, thanks to her decisions.

And she grieved over every casualty.

That is why I am confident that the supercharged women in charge of policies that will affect the whole of Europe and further afield, will assuredly not flinch from tough decisions.

They all have the potential to be iron ladies.

This article was first published in The New Paper on May 10, 2008.