As Influential as Influenza?

The spectre of nationalism (an ugly spirit afflicting many persons with inadequate levels of Britishness) raised its unpleasant head in Australia today when Bulletin magazine named Rupert Murdoch the most influential Australian of all time. Despite a rare burst of truthfulness in which the owner of the Sun newspaper said that others had "done a great deal more to improve the whole world", a heckler was uncharitable enough to inquire, "How can the most influential Australian of all time be an American?" Murdoch gave up his Australian citizenship in 1985 because the Americans had a law against non-citizens owning their television stations, and Murdoch was anxious to bring his improving influence to bear on Fox News. In civilised Britain, of course, where nationalism is less prevalent than in our unruly former colonies, we don't care who owns our news media provided they evince a healthy hatred of Europe.

In any case, given the course of human history it seems rather odd that "influential" is regarded as a compliment, even by so modest a gentleman as Rupert Murdoch. It is arguable, for example, that the most influential American in history is a little wriggler called Treponema pallidum, and the most influential Asian our old friend Yersinia pestis.