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Tony Blair – Big Over There
The British Prime Minister is the only world leader about whom a majority of Americans feel positive, according to the latest Harris Poll. His positive rating is well up on those of President Bush, Kofi Annan and the Pope, and more than 30% ahead of any other leader of a foreign country.
A similar poll by HI Europe a month ago revealed that Europeans tend to favour those leaders who opposed the war, but American public opinion is very negative when it comes to Messrs Chirac, Schroeder and new Spanish leader Zapatero. More people (44%) have negative opinions about French President Jacques Chirac than about any other foreign leader, and only 14% feel positively toward him. This seems to suggest, says Ipsos, that Americans were much more aware of President Chirac's opposition to the war than of the 'equally strong' opposition of Chancellor Schroeder and Prime Minister Zapatero.
Many of the world leaders are not well known in America. Large numbers have no opinion, positive or negative, of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (73%), Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Kozumi (70%), Spanish Prime Minister Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (66%), Germany Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (62%), and Russian President Vladimir Putin (57%). Half (50%) have neither positive nor negative feelings about U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan. By contrast, fewer than one third have no opinion about Mr Blair - fully 58% of Americans say they feel positively about him and only 13% negatively.
In the HI Europe poll of five European nations, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and Pope John Paul were the most popular leaders, followed by three strong opponents of the Iraqi invasion, Zapatero, Chirac and Schroeder, while the three most unpopular leaders were pro-Iraq war leaders Bush, Blair and Berlusconi.
US
Views of World Leaders
'How negatively
or positively do you
feel about each of
the following leaders?'
|
| Base:
All Adults |
| |
Positively
(NET) |
Very
Positively |
Somewhat
Positively |
Neither
Negatively Nor
Positively |
Negatively
(NET) |
Somewhat
Negatively |
Very
Negatively |
| Prime
Minister Tony Blair
of Great Britain |
% |
58 |
28 |
31 |
28 |
13 |
9 |
4 |
| President
George W. Bush of
the United States
|
% |
43 |
28 |
15 |
11 |
46 |
17 |
29 |
| Secretary General
Kofi Annan of the
United Nations |
% |
42 |
18 |
24 |
35 |
24 |
13 |
10 |
| Prime
Minister Junichiro
Kozumi of Japan |
% |
24 |
6 |
18 |
50 |
26 |
13 |
13 |
| President Vladimir
Putin of Russia |
% |
22 |
3 |
19 |
70 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
| President
Vladimir Putin of
Russia |
% |
20 |
2 |
19 |
57 |
23 |
16 |
7 |
| Chancellor Gerard
Schroeder of Germany
|
% |
17 |
2 |
15 |
62 |
21 |
12 |
8 |
| Prime
Minister Silvio Berlusconi
of Italy |
% |
17 |
3 |
14 |
73 |
10 |
7 |
3 |
| Prime Minister
Luís Rodríguez
Zapatero of Spain |
% |
14 |
2 |
12 |
66 |
20 |
13 |
7 |
| President Jacques
Chirac of France |
% |
14 |
2 |
12 |
42 |
44 |
19 |
25 |
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US
and European Views
'How negatively or
positively do you
feel about each of
the following world
leaders?' |
| Base:
All Adults |
| |
U.S. |
5
European Countries
(Average for
Britain, France, Germany,
Italy & Spain)
|
| Positively |
Negatively |
Positively |
Negatively |
| % |
% |
% |
% |
| Prime
Minister Tony Blair
of Great Britain |
58 |
13 |
20 |
53 |
| President George
W. Bush of the United
States |
43 |
46 |
10 |
76 |
| Pope
John Paul II |
42 |
24 |
45 |
25 |
| Secretary General
Kofi Annan of the
United Nations |
24 |
26 |
52 |
13 |
| Prime
Minister Junichiro
Kozumi of Japan |
22 |
8 |
15 |
9 |
| President Vladimir
Putin of Russia |
20 |
23 |
21 |
34 |
| Chancellor
Gerard Schroeder of
Germany |
17 |
21 |
30 |
26 |
| Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi
of Italy |
17 |
10 |
11 |
56 |
| Prime
Minister Luís
Rodríguez Zapatero
of Spain |
14 |
20 |
33 |
16 |
| President
Jacques Chirac of
France |
14 |
44 |
30 |
30 |
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Harris Interactive(r) surveyed 2,242 people in the US aged 18 plus online between July 12th and 16th. Results and methodology for the HI Europe poll are at www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=821
Web sites are...
Harris Interactive: www.harrisinteractive.com
HI Europe www.hieurope.com
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