Euronews: Who are the least popular leaders in Europe?
Chancellor Olaf Scholz is among the least popular German leaders, according to a new poll published in September by the Infrastat Dema organization, while his position isn’t much better than that of many European leaders, questions are being asked about the reasons for the general decline in trust.
Scholz’s approval rating was 18% according to the poll, a figure that was starkly reflected in his party’s performance in the European elections in June, where his party won just 14% of the vote, lagging behind Germany’s two main parties and minority parties such as the far-right Alternative for Germany.
In the same context, former Chancellor Angela Merkel enjoyed an average public confidence rate of 76% during her 16-year rule, but the rate dropped to 46% after her open-border policies during the refugee crisis in 2016.
Data collected over the past three months has revealed a decline in the popularity of several prominent European leaders and figures.
Although the popularity of each political figure is often linked to the domestic circumstances of each country, Jan Kubik, director of the School of Slavonic and Oriental Studies at University College London, told Euronews that a general sense of frustration with the nature of politics could be responsible for the overall decline in the popularity of leaders in Europe.
“There is a sense of frustration because of the perception that the world isn’t in good shape, and no one knows how to improve it,” Kubik added, noting that Europe also suffers from a lack of positive pioneers in a political landscape dominated by two major wars and a rise in the popularity of the far right.
In this context, Kubik pointed out that the decline in trust isn’t a new phenomenon.
He explained that the acceptability of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has been declining since he took office, however, so far, distrust of him isn’t as high as it was for the former leader of the Law and Justice party and his main political opponent, Jarosław Kaczyński.
French President Emmanuel Macron, whose latest popularity rating was just 30%, isn’t the only leader whose popularity has fallen in France.
“Its history is full of unpopular leaders,” he said… In 2016, former French President François Hollande received just 4% support.
In this context, French political analyst François Valentin told Euronews that Macron has made himself unpopular in France by publicly placing himself at the center of political decisions, making him vulnerable to negative reactions if his government’s choices don’t resonate with French public opinion.
Valentin added, “This strategy worked for him when he was new, but now it’s working against him, especially as he has become increasingly isolated, even within his own political circle”.
As for Scholz, his lack of public presence has been cited as one reason for his low popularity ratings.
“Many people miss him being there to explain his decisions and the federal government’s policies to voters… He also doesn’t seem to respond well to public demands,” explained Antonius Souris, a political scientist at the Free University in Berlin.
“There were periods this year when he seemed to have completely disappeared,” he added.
