The FINANCIAL — Worldwide, Germany’s leadership has been as popular — or almost as popular — as the leadership of the U.S. in all but the two early years of President Barack Obama’s administration. This includes 2014, when a median of 41% of residents in 135 countries and areas approved of Germany’s leadership.
The approval rating of Germany’s leadership in 2014, which for most of the world likely means long-time Chancellor Angela Merkel, was about where it has been for most of the past eight years. In 2007 and 2008, the last two years of the Bush administration, global residents actually held Germany’s leadership under Merkel in higher regard than U.S. leadership. The chancellor has navigated through some trying economic and political times for Europe during her tenure, with Germany emerging as a leader throughout the eurozone’s recent sovereign debt crisis and in Western diplomacy throughout the Ukraine conflict, according to Gallup.
Germany’s Leadership Most Popular in European Union
Majorities of residents in 46 countries approved of Germany’s leadership in 2014. Illustrating the country’s regional political and economic clout, more than half of these countries are in Europe. Nineteen of the countries are EU member states. The other five are countries or areas in Europe that are not part of the EU, including Kosovo, which gives Germany one of its highest approval ratings (77%) in the world.
Germany’s leadership gained popularity in some countries between 2013 and 2014, with approval ratings increasing by 10 percentage points or more in 11 countries. All except two countries are EU members, and this list notably includes all of the countries that received bailouts during the recent debt crisis, except Greece. In Greece, 29% approved of Germany’s leadership — though this is the highest rating since 2010, Greeks and Cypriots remained the least likely of all EU populations to approve.
Russians, Palestinians Most Disapproving of Germany’s Leadership
Residents in relatively few countries decisively disapproved of Germany’s leadership. Majorities in eight countries disapproved, with this figure rising to two-thirds among Palestinians (67%) and Russians (66%). Residents in 26 countries were more likely to disapprove than approve.
Approval of German leadership declined by at least 10 points in 13 countries between 2013 and 2014. The largest drop was 27 points in Kazakhstan, from 50% approving in 2013 to 23% in 2014. This drop may at least partly reflect the increasing tensions between the West and Russia over the situation in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. Ratings also dropped in other former Soviet states, including Russia (17 points), Belarus (11 points) and Uzbekistan (11 points).
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