So how is Obama doing internationally? Apparently not so bad, according to the Harris poll.
NY Times:
President Barack Obama remains by far the most popular world leader among people in major Western nations and is the one political figure on whom people consistently pin their hopes in the economic crisis, according to new polls conducted for the International Herald Tribune.
But there's a dark cloud on the horizon, which we can already see in the Sotomayor discussion.
The surveys found that a solid majority of people in the major Western democracies expect a rise in political extremism in their countries as a result of the economic crisis. Even in the United States and Italy, the two countries whose citizens are least likely to hold that view, fully 53 percent of those surveyed say more extremism is "certain to happen" or "probable" in the next three years.
From Business Wire:
Because this survey provides data on what people think of the world’s leaders in six different countries, there are many very interesting findings. Some of the more interesting ones are:
- U.S. President Barack Obama, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy of France all have lower ratings in their own country then they do when looking at an average of all six countries surveyed. Gordon Brown is 16 points lower (42% in all six countries vs. 25% in Great Britain), Barack Obama is 9 points lower (78% vs. 69%) and Nicolas Sarkozy is 8 points lower (42% vs. 34%);
- On the reverse side, two leaders have higher ratings in their own countries than in an average of all six. In Italy, 43% of Italians have a favorable opinion of Silvio Berlusconi compared to 19% across the six countries – a 24 point difference. Spain’s Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero has a seven point difference, 46% in Spain versus 39% across the six countries. Germany’s Angela Merkel is perceived almost equally as well in Germany (56%) as across the five European countries and the U.S. (54%);
- Pope Benedict continues his decline as only 36% of adults across the six countries have a favorable opinion of him. This is down from 39% in April and 49% in January;
- In Great Britain, the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair is viewed more favorably than the current one, Gordon Brown (31% vs. 25%); and,
- When it comes to which world leaders are most influential, U.S. President Barack Obama again tops the list as over three-quarters of adults in all six countries say he has a great deal or some influence at an international level. Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel are second and third across the six countries.
More from Harris (.pdf) can be found here. In any case, it's helpful to have a respected President rebuilding America's image abroad. The contrast with the last one is unavoidable.
These are the results of a new Harris Interactive/France 24/International Herald Tribune survey conducted online among a total of 6,332 adults (aged 16-64) in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy between April 29 and May 6, 2009.