Least Popular in Poland

Within the European Union, Poles are least supportive of Obama’s handling of international affairs.

Such conclusions stem from the annual “Transatlantic Trends” report recently published by the German Marshall Fund, based in Washington. Pollsters interviewed several thousands of people from 11 European Union countries, Turkey and the USA for the survey.

The approval rating for Barack Obama’s foreign policy in Poland — traditionally considered the most pro-American country in Europe — was the lowest among all European Union countries. Fifty-eight percent of the Poles responded positively, while the average for Europe was 78 percent.

Nevertheless, attitudes toward American presidential policy have improved over time. In 2006, when George W. Bush was president, only 40 percent of Poles surveyed considered it positive, according to Michael Baranowski, an analyst at the German Marshall Fund.

Only 46 percent desire U.S. leadership in the global arena (the average for the EU is 55 percent). However, when asked a general question about their attitude toward the United States, the country scored much higher — 70 percent of Poles have positive connotations.

It is still slightly less than the average for the EU, which in this case is 76 percent, but although the Poles critically rate the president’s handling of international policies, they have positive attitudes to the country overall, adds Michael Baranowski.

Obamomania was not as intense in Poland, in contrast to Western Europe, where it led last year to a sharp increase in positive attitudes after the unpopular George W. Bush left the White House. What exactly do we criticize Obama for? Among other things, for the way the president has been handling the stabilization of Afghanistan. Sixty-one percent disapprove of his policies toward the economy, which means that in Poland Obama received the lowest approval rating in this field.

Only 42 percent of interviewees in the entire European Union rated Obama’s actions in Afghanistan negatively. The Poles remained more critical in this respect. Over 70 percent considered the future of the mission pessimistically. Poles do not find Obama’s policy toward Iran and the Middle East desirable either.

Interestingly, despite the abandonment of plans for rapid construction of the anti-missile shield and the “reset” in Washington-Moscow relations, the American leader received passable opinions for his relations with Russia (52 percent approved). The way Obama handles international economic affairs was seen as desirable by 54 percent.

Are politicians going to take these results seriously and make efforts to improve the image of the USA in Poland? It is possible, because senior officials in the American administration closely observe such surveys.

Janusz Reiter, Former Polish Ambassador to the United States and President of the Center for International Relations

The results of the report are a response to the very high expectations that Poland had toward America and for the promises that, according to Poles, Americans have not kept. In Poland, there is a deep conviction that the country gave more to the USA than it received in return, and that Americans have not appreciated us.

Washington used to understand our need for recognition and was capable of satisfying it. However, nowadays the (understanding) is far worse because the ranking of Europe in American policies has dropped. I am therefore not surprised with the results of this report, although I do not think it reveals exceptional criticism of President Obama, but rather an increasing distance between Poland and the United States.

Growing apart from America had started earlier and Obama’s rise to power has accelerated the process, but not triggered it. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have contributed to it, because they consolidated America’s image as a country that is Poland’s partner only in the field of security. However, this is not Poland’s absolute priority anymore. Underestimating security issues is a bad trend, which calls for a Polish policy response.