Barack Obama and The Dalai Lama Sit on Top of World Leaders Barometer

NEW YORK, N.Y. - April 27, 2010 - Across the five largest European countries and the United States, President Barack Obama has the highest levels of popularity. No other political or governmental leader from any part of the world enjoys anything close to his popularity. The second highest political leader is also American, but unelected – Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

One thing to keep in mind is that this poll does not measure job ratings, but rather how good or bad opinions are of 21 well-known world leaders. Across the six countries, three-quarters of adults (77%) on average have good opinions of President Obama. Like some other leaders, he does less well in his own country than abroad. In the United States, just under three in five (57%) have a good opinion of him. He is much more popular in Europe (88% in Italy, 86% in France, 82% in Spain, 81% in Germany and 69% in Britain).

In the U.S., Americans have higher opinions of The Dalai Lama (72%) and the same opinion of Hillary Clinton (57%) as they do of President Obama.

These are the results of a new France 24/Harris Poll conducted online among a total of 6,135 adults (aged 16-64) in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy between March 31 and April 12, 2010.

The only leader who comes close to President Obama across all 6 countries is The Dalai Lama, with an average good opinion score of 75%. But, of course, he is not a head of government.

Looking at the other heads of states for the countries surveyed, Great Britain's Prime Minister, Gordon Brown and France's Nicolas Sarkozy share one thing in common with President Obama – people in their own country have a poorer opinion of them than the average for all six countries. One in five Britons (20%) have good opinions of Brown, compared to 31% across the six countries while 31% of French adults have good opinion of Sarkozy, compared to 37% across the six countries.

In two of the other countries, there is more support at home for their leaders than in the six countries combined. Just under two in five of his countrymen (38%) have a good opinion of Spain's José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, compared to 34% across the six countries. While two in five Italians (38%) have a good opinion of Silvio Berlusconi, just 16% across the six countries say the same. One exception is Angela Merkel of Germany–the same number of adults in her country and in all six countries (54%) have a good opinion of her.

At the bottom of the list are Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran (5% of adults in the six countries have a good opinion of him), Mouammar Kadhafi of Libya (7%), and China's Hu Jintao (9%).

Specific Traits of Leaders

In addition to overall opinions of the 21 leaders, some specific character traits were examined for six of the leaders as well. Almost nine in ten across all six countries say The Dalai Lama (88%) and Angela Merkel (87%) are serious. Nine in ten (91%) also believe The Dalai Lama is honest (91%) while 79% say this about Angela Merkel. Even considering the recent scandals embroiling the Vatican, it is a little surprising that only 45% say Pope Benedict is honest.

Almost nine in ten across all six countries (88%) say Barack Obama is dynamic while 73% say this about Hillary Clinton. Over four in five say The Dalai Lama (86%) and Barack Obama (84%) are close to the people while 90% say Barack Obama is charismatic. Nine in ten (89%) believe The Dalai Lama is reassuring while 76% say the same for Barack Obama.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

*Note: The percentage change for Barack Obama is being measured from January to the present; Benyamin Netanyahou was not measured before November 2009; Herman Van Rompuy, Mahmoud Abbas, and Mouammar Kadhfi were not measured before April 2010.

* Note: A * indicates a percentage change from January.

**This index is the sum of the two measures divided by two.

Methodology

This France 24/Harris Poll was conducted online by Harris Interactive among a total of 6,135 adults (aged 16-64) within France (1,071), Germany (1,015), Great Britain (1,030), Spain (993) and the United States (1,019), and adults (aged 18-64) in Italy (1,007) between March 31 and April 12, 2010. Figures for age, sex, education, region and Internet usage were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls and the British Polling Council.

The Harris Poll^®#58, April 27, 2010

By Regina A. Corso, Director, The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive

About Harris Interactive

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