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| US opinion poll: France and Germany up; Saudi Arabia down |
| 2004-02-20 |
| An affirmation of what we already know here at Rantburg. Americans have a better opinion of France and Germany now than when the two European countries opposed the war in Iraq, but France is not quite out of the dog house, according to a Gallup poll. While only 34 percent of Americans saw France in a favourable light last March, 47 percent view the French favourably now, according to poll released Wednesday. The figure, however, is still a far cry from the 70 percent to 79 percent ratings France enjoyed in the 1990s, and many Americans, 49 percent, still view France unfavourably. Politically, Republicans dislike the French the most. While 58 percent of Democrats view France favourably, 64 percent of Republicans have a low opinion of the war opponents. Germany is more popular than France. Surprise meter is 0.0000. Last March, 44 percent of Americans viewed Germany unfavourably, but only 26 percent feel that way now. The poll shows that 69 percent of Americans view Germany favourably. TGA, you’re winning us over. Most Americans disliked Iraq until last year’s US-led invasion, when 93 percent of Americans viewed Saddam Hussein’s Iraq unfavourably. In the latest poll, 21 percent view Iraq favourably while 74 percent do not. Saudi Arabia’s image continues to deteriorate, a trend that began in 2001. Two-thirds, or 66 percent, of Americans view the kingdom unfavourably. Last year, 61 percent viewed it in an unfavorable light. Only 28 percent of Americans have a favourable opinion of Saudi Arabia, a two point drop from last year. S.A. should request a refund from their PR firm. Of course, cleaning up their act wouldn’t hurt either. Australia, with 88 percent, and Britain and Canada, both with 87 percent, remain the United States’ favourite countries. They are followed by Japan (75 percent), Germany (69 percent), Mexico (68 percent), Brazil (66 percent), India (61 percent), Israel (59 percent), Russia (59 percent) and Egypt (58 percent). The Gallup Organization has asked for 20 years if Americans’ overall opinion of a country is "very favourable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable." |
| Posted by:GK |
| #16 Coffee Alert!!! "But... who are the 28% of idiots who STILL have a favorable opinion of Saudi Arabia???" LOL! TGA cuts to the bone, as usual! Sheesh, gotta clean my screen & keyboard! Thx, Bro... Best laugh I've had today by a wide margin! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-2-20 7:00:10 PM |
| #15 I'm not complaining... but it may have something to do WITH THIS? Well, you can't put good beer and cars down forever :) But... who are the 28% of idiots who STILL have a favorable opinion of Saudi Arabia??? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-2-20 6:04:24 PM |
| #14 BH - Mebbe it's the Donks skewing the poll with a fevered "the enemy of my enemy" mantra? :-) |
| Posted by: .com 2004-2-20 3:41:04 PM |
| #13 Liberalhawk, free-flying? The hatred between Sunnis and Shiites is incomprehensible to most Americans? Pass the bong, it's religeous tribal warfare. Although the Church is very broad, I don't think there are any messages to go and kill unbelievers and lapsed members, either targeted or indiscriminlately. As the Asian shop-keeper said, "I don't know, they all look the same". |
| Posted by: Rhodesiafever 2004-2-20 3:00:20 PM |
| #12 Actually, I'm pretty surprised by the increase in France's standings. WTF have they done since last year that would make Americans think they are any better than the other Arab countries? I keep thinking of Dominique Galouseau telling journalists that "Americans will soon get over this." I ain't ever getting over this sh*t. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-2-20 2:17:21 PM |
| #11 You got our Bong DeoHawk? |
| Posted by: AntiPasto 2004-2-20 12:56:54 PM |
| #10 asked if Americans' overall opinion of [Iraq] is "very favourable, mostly favorable, mostly unfavorable, or very unfavorable." That's an easy one. Let's see, costing billions, hundreds of soldiers lives, incessant whining from all directions, not ending anytime soon...UNFAVORABLE. Important work isn't always pleasant. |
| Posted by: ChickenHawk 2004-2-20 12:27:05 PM |
| #9 4thInfVet - I would piss an a eurotrash's face. Only if it wasn't on fire, tho. |
| Posted by: justme 2004-2-20 12:14:58 PM |
| #8 Maybe it needs new batteries? |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-2-20 11:19:01 AM |
| #7 Your surprise meter at zero too, Fred? |
| Posted by: Steve from Relto 2004-2-20 10:06:52 AM |
| #6 and further, why should we be surprised. One thing that the left has in common with the more stupid folks on the right (some of whom post here) is an inability to distinguish some Iraqis from others. The leftists for months kept denouncing the admin for being willing to shed Iraqi blood, ignoring the actual opinions of ordinary Iraqis wrt to the war, and the fact that Saddam was the biggest killer of Iraqis. And on the right, when there is a big attack on our forces in say Falluja, instead of saying we should get tough on the insurgents, or the Sunni triangle, there are folks who want to get tough on Iraqis in general. If we our troops had gone in and overthrown the apartheid regime in South Africa, and were then attacked by racist whites, we'd all understand that the majority in the country was against the insurgency. Skin color being obvious, and something we understand from our own history. The hatred between Sunnis and Shiites is incomprehensible to most Americans, the last time Christians have slaughtered each other over this sort of thing (outside of Northern Ireland, at any rate) was like 300 years ago - and even Christians who remember that history have difficulty with the Sunni-shia split, since it is not over the kinds of theological questions that split christianity, but more over questions of authority - its more like the Catholic-Orthodox split (perhaps Croats and Serbs understand better?) |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-2-20 9:10:03 AM |
| #5 nah, ZF, i dont think its that sophisticated. Its more like most just think of Iraq as the "enemy" and simply arent following post-war iraqi politics like we do here. IIUC some folks in the '70s took a dislike to Viet Namese refugees, cause "those were the gooks who were killing our boys" even though said refugees were the fleeing victims of the Communists. |
| Posted by: liberalhawk 2004-2-20 9:00:39 AM |
| #4 Three words, CobraCommander: Remember the OAS. |
| Posted by: Lu Baihu 2004-2-20 3:37:29 AM |
| #3 Americans have a better opinion of France and Germany now 'Better' is an entirely relative term. I personally wouldn't piss on a eurotrash's face if their head was on fire. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2004-2-20 1:18:21 AM |
| #2 We'll never depart, not technically. |
| Posted by: CobraCommander 2004-2-20 1:08:18 AM |
| #1 The interesting aspect of this poll is how Iraq is viewed less favorably than Saudi Arabia. The American public is getting tired of the carping and ingratitude. If the Iraqis don't shape up soon, we may soon be departing from Iraq, under a Kerry administration, leaving the various factions to duke it out. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-2-20 12:43:06 AM |