Negative Views of U.S. Are Increasing in Europe, Poll Finds
By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS and MARJORIE CONNELLY The New York Times WASHINGTON, March 19 As the Bush administration drives toward war in Iraq (news - web sites), resentment and hostility are building toward America in general and Mr. Bush in particular, a new poll has found. Most of America's major European allies and Russia view the United States unfavorably, and overwhelmingly disapprove of the way President Bush (news - web sites) is handling United States foreign policy, according to a nine-country survey released on Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The poll was conducted within the last week in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and the United States. In most instances, it offered a glimpse of hardening, increasingly negative views of the United States, as compared to surveys from last year and 2001. The survey lends empirical support to critics who say the Bush administration has squandered an outpouring of goodwill and sympathy among American allies and partners in the weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The nations asserted that American foreign policy has more of a negative effect on them than a positive one with only the British evenly divided. All of them opposed taking part in a war to end Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s rule, even though most believed that the Middle East would be more stable after an American-led invasion. Every nation surveyed wanted to recast the partnership between the United States and Western Europe to grant Europeans more independence in determining their security and foreign policy. The poll also underscored the extent to which the few governments allied with Washington, particularly Britain and Spain, are bucking the sentiments of their own people. Mr. Bush came in for special criticism from Europeans. Although his approval ratings have held steady at home, respondents across the Atlantic who viewed American policy negatively mostly blamed Mr. Bush, rather than a "general problem with America." "Overwhelming majorities disapprove of President Bush's foreign policy, and the boost in ratings he enjoyed post 9-11 in Western Europe has dissipated," said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew center. "Western Europeans mostly see Bush as the problem, rather than America more generally." Most noticeably anti-Bush were the French, three-fourths of whom said the problems created by America were "mostly Bush," while only a fraction 15 percent faulted America in general. Russia and Turkey were the only nations that were inclined to blame America in general rather than the president. The poll showed a serious disconnect between Americans and their traditional allies. While 59 percent of Americans supported a war to remove Saddam Hussein, only 39 percent of Britons and 13 percent of the Spanish favored military action. The survey demonstrated how anger and dismay toward America have intensified in recent months as the United States, seeking action against Baghdad, has clashed with members of the United Nations (news - web sites) Security Council. In Germany, for example, America's staunchest ally on the continent during the cold war, only 25 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of the United States, down from 61 percent last June. In France, where respondents last year held a 63 percent mostly favorable view of the United States, the number has fallen to 31 percent. Similarly, in Italy, the favorable opinions fell from 70 percent to 34 percent. Only two nations Poland and Britain held views toward America that were more favorable than not. But that support has sharply diminished over the past year. Poles, who have long embraced the United States because of family ties and as protection against stronger neighbors, held a view that was 79 percent favorable of the United States last year. The new poll places that positive view at only 50 percent. The erosion of support in Britain is perhaps the most troubling from the American perspective. Tony Blair (news - web sites), the British prime minister, has steadfastly stood by the Bush administration throughout the diplomatic wrangling and has committed troops to any invasion. But the British despite their claim of a "special relationship" with the United States, and their skepticism toward European integration nevertheless voice growing dislike of the United States and its foreign policy. Last year, 75 percent of Britons had a generally positive view of the United States. This year, that number plunged to 48 percent, while the negative views more than doubled. The United States did not fare any better with other partners in the anti-Iraq coalition. The Spanish, for example, held a 74 percent unfavorable opinion of the United States, and 79 percent of them opposed Mr. Bush's policies, even as that country's prime minister, José María Aznar, hews tightly to Washington's strategy. The antipathy to Mr. Bush and the United States is all the more striking because most of the European nations firmly believe that the people of Iraq would be better off if Saddam Hussein is removed from power and disarmed by the United States and its allies. By wide margins, they agreed that the Middle East region would be a more stable place after a United States-led ouster of Saddam Hussein. Russia and Turkey were the only exceptions. In addition to their unhappiness over war, the survey respondents displayed a restive, even sour mood about conditions in their own countries. All the nations were dissatisfied with how things were going internally. The Poles were the most unhappy, with 89 percent dissatisfied. The Germans were highly dissatisfied, at 79 percent, a 13 percent increase over last year. Spain seemed the most at peace with itself, with 47 percent unhappy and 41 percent satisfied. Americans were 50 percent dissatisfied and 44 percent satisfied in a Pew poll conducted in January. American views were largely in sync with most European allies on the importance of the United Nations as a broker in international conflicts. Most Americans 54 percent said the United Nations is still important, with 33 percent saying it is "not so important." That margin was closely followed in Britain, France and Italy. Germany proved to be the biggest backer of the United Nations, with 73 percent asserting that the world body was "still important." The survey involved about 1,000 adults in the United States and in Britain and about 500 adults in each of the other seven countries. Interviews were conducted by telephone, except in Poland and Turkey, where they were conducted face-to-face. The survey is based on nationwide samples except Poland and Russia, where the survey was only conducted in urban areas. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3 to 5 percentage points.
