Obama Conserves International Confidence

According to a study published last Wednesday by the Pew Institute, approval ratings of the President of the United States as he finishes his first term in the White House remain high in Europe, Japan and Brazil. Nevertheless, during the past four years Barak Obama hasn’t been immune to political wear and tear. According to the 21 countries surveyed in the report, all concur that his term has not lived up to the expectations generated in 2009. Nevertheless, almost all of them, except Russia, China and Mexico as well as various Muslim states (excluding Turkey) are in favor of his reelection.

According to the study conducted via telephone and face-to-face interviews, Obama’s popularity has diminished considerably in Muslim countries since 2009. In Egypt, confidence in the President has dropped 13 points in the past three years despite U.S. support during their revolution in 2011. Russia maintains an unfavorable opinion of the US President (44 percent against and 36 percent in favor), whilst China (41 percent to 38percent) and Mexico (46 percent against 42 percent) appeared to be quite divided. Of those caught in the vortex of the economic crisis, subjects from 11 of the 21 countries responded largely in favor of Obama’s handling of the global economic crisis. The approval rating has been higher in the European Union once again, with the clear exception of Greece. Immersed in a profound recession, 60 percent of Greek citizens surveyed give a failing grade to the President’s policies and whereas 22 percent approve. On the other hand, Russia, China and various Muslim nations disapprove of his handling of the international economic situation.

Feelings of deception about Obama’s foreign policy, proximity to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and actions on climate change are evident. In 2009, the majority of European countries counted on the fact that the new U.S. President would take their respective interests into consideration in his policies and that he would seek international support before using force during conflicts. In 2012, Europe considers his promises broken. Only Americans themselves showed a different perspective, where 2/3 of those polled believe that their President had respected multilateralism. In Brazil, the second ranked economy on the American continent, sixth worldwide and one of the U.S.’ principal investors, half of those surveyed think Obama has had the South American opinion in mind.

There is also widespread disappointment concerning the way Obama has approached the conflict between Palestine and Israel. Three years ago, the E.U. and Japan, as well as 40 percent of those surveyed in China and Mexico trusted that the President would maintain a “fair position” in the Near East. According to the study, now only five of those countries believe that he has been capable of providing leadership during a conflict there. According to the study, the frustration in the Muslim countries is lower because “they never expected” that the President was going to solve the conflict in the first place. Only 20 percent of those polled from within the six Muslim countries – Turkey, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Egypt and Pakistan, according to Pew – maintain that Obama’s role has been positive.

As far as climate change is concerned, the difference between what was expected of the U.S. President and his achievements is much more marked, mostly in Europe. In 2009, for example, 81 percent of the French thought Obama would adopt measures to curb global warming, Three years later, a mere 21 percent believe he has succeeded.

In spite of the generalized deception, according to the Pew study, Obama continues to be the world’s most valued leader. With a popularity rating of 61 percent he is far ahead of German Chancellor Angela Merkel (45 percent) or even General Secretary of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon (39Percent). Even in Germany, citizens have more confidence in the president of the U.S. than in the leader of the C.D.U. – with respective 87 percent and 77 percent approval rates, according to Pew.