6 out of 10 people globally think Obama is most trusted world leader: Poll
By ANIWednesday, July 1, 2009
WASHINGTON - A remarkable 61 percent of people from across the world think that US President Barack Obama is the most trustworthy leader in the world, a survey conducted across 20 nations has found.
The latest poll of WorldPublicOpinion.org reveals immense confidence in the current American President as against that of his predecessor George W Bush, who was found in the survey to be one of the world’s least trusted leaders.
“At this moment, Obama occupies a unique position in the eyes of the world. His communication skills and the change he represents create an open door for him to engage people around the world,” The Nation quoted Stephen J Weber of WorldPublicOpinion.org, as saying.
However, just 30 percent Pakistanis expressed confidence in Obama, while 62 percent had no trust.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon ranked second in the current poll. The survey said Ban’s evaluations across all countries polled were positive.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin registered the most negative confidence ratings among all world leaders.
Public confidence in Chinese President Hu Jintao presented a mixed picture around the globe.
WorldPublicOpinion.org - a research project utilising research centres around the world and managed by the Programme on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland - surveyed 19,224 respondents in nations that account for 62 per cent of the global population, including China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia.
The poll was also conducted in Mexico, Germany, Great Britain, France, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and South Korea.
Margins of error range from three to four percentage points. (ANI)
