Morning Consult monitors the approval rating of a set of leaders in democracies globally. Every week, information gets updated for leaders in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most leaders in the selected democracies are underwater by a significant margin. Especially those in the West:
The notable exceptions are Italy, India, and Mexico. Prime Minister Mario Draghi in Italy just took office. The media describes him as an outsider with no particular political party after a career in economics in the European and global financial bureaucracies. Because he was elected recently, his approval rating could indicate a honeymoon period. The fact that most Italians feel the country is headed in the wrong direction reinforces that view. They may be giving a new leader time to fix it.
More than two-thirds of respondents believe the country is headed in the right direction in India. The worst ratings for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the nation’s direction were during the Delta wave in April and May of 2021. However, they never went into the red. Like the United States, provincial governments in India had responsibility for details of the COVID-19 response. Modi is shopping the economic growth, care for the poor, and inflation within expected parameters as successes for the central government, and it seems most Indians agree. A majority feel the country is headed in the right direction.
Most commentators credit Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s personal style for his high approval ratings. Midway through his first six-year term, ABC noted, “López Obrador’s masterful use of televised news briefings, his folksy style and personal austerity have apparently won over Mexicans, despite a number of indicators suggesting the country isn’t doing so well.” Mexicans disagree, saying the country is headed in the right direction. López Obrador’s government also rejected severe COVID-19 restrictions at the national level.
The rest of the leaders assessed? Not doing so well. An interesting feature of many Western countries in the NATO alliance is the leader’s use of the phrase “Build Back Better.” The World Economic Forum coined this phrase and, in summer 2020, decided to tell the world what it really meant. It is about “reinventing capitalism” through the use of environmental, social, and governmental (ESG) scores on businesses and individuals.
These scores will drive investment in green technologies primarily made in China and starve the West of cheap, reliable energy. Residents of the U.K. and Germany are already feeling the effects of this strategy with increasing energy poverty. The United States is also seeing rising energy prices as the Biden administration places crippling restrictions on oil and natural gas production.
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The world is also noticing how bad energy policy impacts security, as Germany increases reliance on Russian oil and gas, pressuring NATO allies to greenlight the NORD 2 pipeline. NORD 2 bypasses Ukraine. Russian petroleum pipelines currently flow through Ukraine, limiting Putin’s ability to expand his invasion beyond Crimea. By bypassing the country, Putin will remove the threat of potential disruption in oil transportation as a limiting factor.
While many residents of the West may not fully understand the details of the agenda, increasingly, the Party of Davos is not hiding the ball. A growing number of people are seeing that something is off, as leaders in a number of the world’s democracies pursue a plan that reduces their nation’s sovereignty, prosperity, and security. Blaming COVID no longer resonates, as people realize the virus is one we will live with for the foreseeable future and many countries drop the pretense of useless restrictions.
In all the nations where the leaders are underwater, respondents feel their country is headed in the wrong direction. In many countries assessed, the number of people expressing this view started to rise in April of 2020. In most cases, it has accelerated since then. Nowhere has this trend been more apparent than in the United States.
In January of 2021, the number of Americans who felt the country was headed in the right direction started to rise, after 80% thought it was headed in the wrong direction following Jan. 6. The number briefly flirted with 50% believing the country was headed in a positive direction, but the last time that happened was in early May. Now, a clear majority — 66% — feel the United States is going down the wrong path. Only 41% of Americans approve of Joe Biden.
The results from Morning Consult mirror Joe Biden’s approval ratings from other sources. CNN released a poll on Thursday showing a 41% approval number for Biden. Perhaps it offers some insight into trends throughout the West. Only 15% say they strongly approve of Biden’s performance, while 41% strongly disapprove. There is not a single issue, not even managing COVID-19, where the president enjoys majority approval:
- The economy – 37% approve, 62% disapprove
- Helping the middle class – 41% approve, 58% disapprove
- Protecting democracy in America – 46% approve, 52% disapprove
- U.S.–China relationship – 42% approve, 55% disapprove
- U.S.–Russia relationship – 42% approve, 56% disapprove
- Crime – 40% approve, 54% disapprove
- Education – 46% approve, 52% disapprove
Most notable, 57%, see Joe Biden’s presidency to date as a failure. Only 55% view Donald Trump’s tenure as one. Additionally, of the almost 60% of Americans who disapprove of how Biden is handling his presidency, most could not name one thing they like that he has done. Even CNN had to admit, “This foul national mood is primarily a disaster in the making for Democrats in November’s midterm elections, but it’s been a long time coming.”
Then, of course, they misdiagnose the problem. Judging from Morning Consult’s results, the West is growing tired of the globalist project driven by unelected elites in organizations like the World Economic Forum. The backlash they are wringing their hands over and trying to quash is just beginning. Everyone should hope it remains confined to the ballot box.
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