“America is back,” Biden stated on Wednesday as he arrived in the United Kingdom at the start of a European tour, the first official trip for the Democrat since coming to power on Jan. 20.
Is it really back? Yes. And now with an improved image abroad since he entered the White House, according to a large survey conducted across 16 countries, including Canada, which has just been released.
The survey confirms that confidence in America is being reestablished across the world, after having fallen under Donald Trump’s government. But the deterioration of democracy, provoked by the populist Trump, continues to affect perceptions: 80% of respondents believe that the American political system has never been or is no longer a model to follow, the survey by Pew Research Center indicated.
In Canada, Europe, Asia and the Pacific region, 62% of those asked now have a positive image of the U.S. That’s 28% higher than during the ex-TV reality star’s term in office.
Only New Zealand continues to have a predominant negative opinion of the country, with 55% of surveyed inhabitants still not changing their opinions of their distant neighbor.
Unsurprisingly, 77% of those questioned believe the new occupant of the White House to be more qualified to hold the position of president of the United States, compared to the 16% who believed the same thing of his predecessor. Across the 16 countries, between March and May three-quarters of the 17,000 people interviewed considered that Biden will “do the right thing in world affairs,” a radical reversal of the situation, which saw just 17% of people having confidence in the Republican’s foreign policy.
The “distinction between Biden and Trump,” according the Pew Research Center report, “is stark,” with “Biden’s high ratings tied in part to positive assessments of his personal characteristics.“ As proof: 13% of respondents thought Biden was “arrogant,” compared to 90% for Trump at the start of his presidency; 14% found Biden dangerous; 72% of people believed Trump to be so. 62% of those questioned found Biden to be a “strong leader,” 16% more than the ex-president.
Confidence in Merkel
When it comes to comparisons, Biden is now only exceeded by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on the basis of public confidence. She is supported by 77% of respondents, compared to 74% for the American. But he is far ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose confidence ratings beyond their own borders are at their lowest, 23% and 20% respectively.
In Canada, 67% of respondents believe the U.S. has once again become a “reliable partner,” in line with all the countries where the survey was conducted (66%). However, this sentiment is felt much more forcefully in European countries, where Biden will begin a series of meetings with partners in the European Union from Wednesday, and where he will take part in the Group of Seven summit, which begins on Friday in the United Kingdom, before going on to meet with NATO in Brussels.
In the Netherlands, Germany, the UK, Italy, Belgium and France, this new level of trustworthiness in bilateral relations is now felt by between 69% and 80% of inhabitants.
“Confidence in Biden is also tied to favorable views of his policies, several of which have emphasized multilateralism and reversed Trump administration decisions,” Pew summarized. “89% of those asked across the 16 countries approve of the United States rejoining the World Health Organization, which the U.S. withdrew from during Trump’s presidency. 85% also support the U.S. rejoining the Paris climate agreement.”
Even if its image is improving, the stains on the democratic portrait of the country remains quite durable, continually fed by unfounded allegations of electoral fraud supported by the former president, the far-fetched evocation of Trump’s return to power in August — which can only be the result of a coup d’état — the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol and the Republican schemes in several states to restrict voting rights. In those countries surveyed, just 17% think that American democracy is an example for others.
At the global level, 50% of those asked believe that the American political system functions well. In Canada, 60% of those asked believe the opposite.
The survey comes days after Biden introduced his trip to Europe as a “redemption tour,” as he wrote in The Washington Post. He hopes to rally America’s natural allies, rebuilding lost alliances in order to “meet the challenges and deter the threats of this new age,” he said.
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