Obama-mania Sweeps Europe as New U.S. President Tops List of Most Popular World Leaders

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – February 6, 2009 – A new Harris Interactive/France 24/International Herald Tribune survey conducted online by Harris Interactive finds President Barack Obama is the most popular political or religious leader in much of western Europe and the United States. When asked their opinion of 19 of the world's most famous and important leaders, far more people in the five largest European nations have a good impression of President Obama than of any other political or governmental leader. Only one person comes close to President Obama, the Dalai Lama, who is virtually tied for first place with Obama in France, Spain and Germany but trails him by eight points in Britain, five points in the United States and four points in Italy.

These are results of the survey conducted online among a total of 6,299 adults (aged 16-64) in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy between January 8 and 19, 2009.

Most Popular Leaders

On average, across all six countries, 80% of adults have a good opinion of Barack Obama and 77% have a good opinion of the Dalai Lama. Obama is most popular in France (where 88% have a good opinion of him), Italy (87%), and Germany (84%).
The Dalai Lama's highest ratings are in France (86%), Italy (83%), Spain (83%), and Germany (83%). Both Obama's and the Dalai Lama's ratings are lower in Britain and
the United States than in the four continental European countries. 

Only two other leaders receive an average score of over 50% across in the six countries: the German Prime Minister Angela Merkel and the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair (both are 53%). They are closely followed by Pope Benedict XVI (49%) and French President Nicholas Sarkozy (44%). The only leaders with average "good opinion" ratings of more than a third are Jose Luis Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister (39%), the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (36%), and U.S. Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon (35%).

It is striking that several European government leaders are less popular at home than they are in some other countries. For example, Blair enjoys the good opinion of only 32% of adults in Britain but of 69% in the United States, 61% in Italy and 59% in France.  And Nicolas Sarkozy is popular with 63% of Italians and 62% of Spaniards but with only 39% of the French.

The Least Popular Leaders

The leaders in the list of whom the fewest number of adults have a good opinion are Presidents Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran (6% on average), Bashar al-Assad of Syria (9%), Hu Jintao of China (9%), Dimitri Medvedev of Russia (11%), Hugo Chavez of Venezuela (17%) and the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (17%). While there are some variations by country, these leaders come near the bottom of the list in all six countries.

Most Influential Leaders

This survey also asked the adults surveyed in the six countries how much influence these 19 leaders have at an international level. President Obama topped this list also. On average in the six countries, fully 83% think he is influential. He is followed by Vladimir Putin (69%), Nicholas Sarkozy (62%), Angela Merkel (60%), Pope Benedict (54%), and Gordon Brown (52%).

Least Influential Leaders

On average less than a third of all adults in these six countries think that the following are influential: Basha al-Assad (21%), President Luiz Lula de Silva of Brazil (22%), ex-president Fidel Castro of Cuba (25%) and Hugo Chavez (28%).

So What?

Some leaders are popular and are thought to be powerful: President Obama, of course, but also Angela Merkel. Others are neither popular nor seen to be powerful such as Bashar al-Assad, Fidel Castro and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Vladimir Putin, and to a lesser extent Hu Jintao, are seen as powerful by many people but come near the bottom of the popularity list.

Does all this matter? Recent history suggests it does. As President Bush's popularity ebbed away, it increased the pressure on the leaders of other democracies to distance themselves from him and from the policies of the United States. For as long as President Obama continues to be very popular abroad, it will have the opposite effect. European leaders will want to be seen as his close friend in the hope that some of his popularity will rub off on them.

TABLE 1

OPINIONS OF WORLD LEADERS

"For each of the following people, please indicate whether you have a very good, somewhat good, somewhat poor or very poor opinion of that person?"

Percent saying "Very/Somewhat good"

Base: All EU adults in five countries and U.S. adults