Will Merkel Manage to Recover as Her Approval Ratings Drop to a 5-year Low?

Angela Merkel faces strong criticism from both voters & fellow politicians

Obama Poll Ratings Soar as Pakistanis Burn American Flags
DAILY EXPRESS: PRESIDENT Barack Obama basked in the glory of higher poll ratings today as Americans applauded their leader for the death of Osama Bin Laden.

The President's approval ratings climbed to 56 percent, a 9-point improvement since last month, following the news of Osama Bin Laden's death.

According to the polls by The Washington Post/Pew Research Center and USA Today/Gallup Poll, the President's ratings had dramatically improved since the news broke.

The higher ratings come as Al Qaeda supporters in Pakistan burnt flags in protest to the actions of the US special forces.

Hundreds of people marched through Multan, Pakistan burning U.S. flags and waving placards as they warned the terrorist's death could produce many more radical figures to take his place.

It comes after crowds of weeping mourners were pictured offering funeral prayers for the Al Qaeda mastermind widely blamed for thousands of deaths at 9/11. Continue reading and comment » | Emily Fox for express.co.uk | Wednesday, May 04, 2011

Tory/Lib Dem Coalition Wins Public Approval in ICM Poll
THE TELEGRAPH: The Liberal/Conservative coalition has won high levels of public approval, with nearly two thirds of voters backing the new Govern-ment, a Sunday Telegraph/ ICM poll shows.

The survey, the first by ICM since election day, showed 64 per cent of voters thought that the Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition was the right way forward for Britain after the general election resulted in a hung parliament.

It was backed by 87 per cent of those who voted Tory this month and 77 per cent of Lib Dem voters. >>> Patrick Hennessy, Political Editor | Saturday, May 15, 2010

Barack Obama's Approval Rating Drops to 46 Per Cent
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama yesterday delayed a trip to Asia amid falling approval ratings and grave doubts that his 11th hour attempt to push health care reform through Congress will succeed.

A new poll by Gallup showed Mr Obama's approval rating at a record low of 46 per cent since taking office. In the optimistic early days of his presidency 69 per cent approved of the job he was doing.

Doubts about his ability to pass his flagship domestic policy have affected his popularity among Democratic supporters, while independents and Republicans have grown wary of health care reform as an expensive government venture.

Mr Obama had set Democratic leaders in Congress a deadline of March 18 to coral the votes necessary to pass health care without any support from Republicans, by using a procedure known as budget reconciliation. >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Friday, March 12, 2010

Barack Obama Sees Worst Poll Rating Drop in 50 Years
THE TELEGRAPH: The decline in Barack Obama's popularity since July has been the steepest of any president at the same stage of his first term for more than 50 years.

Gallup recorded an average daily approval rating of 53 per cent for Mr Obama for the third quarter of the year, a sharp drop from the 62 per cent he recorded from April.

His current approval rating – hovering just above the level that would make re-election an uphill struggle – is close to the bottom for newly-elected president. Mr Obama entered the White House with a soaring 78 per cent approval rating.

The bad polling news came as Mr Obama returned to the campaign trail to prevent his Democratic party losing two governorships next month in states in which he defeated Senator John McCain in last November's election. >>> Toby Harnden in Washington | Thursday, October 22, 2009

Two Years On – Bruni, Bling and Barricades
THE GUARDIAN: Nicolas Sarkozy took office in May 2007 promising to transform France and restore its status as a great nation. Brash, confident and now married to one of the most glamorous woman [sic] in Europe, his presidency has not lacked drama. But approval ratings have plummeted, unemployment is rising and public sector workers are in revolt. Has Sarko really delivered?

French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his model-turned-singer girlfriend Carla Bruni. Photo courtesy of The Guardian
A strange and somewhat surreal party took place last week on the Champs Elysées, on the pavement outside Le Fouquet's restaurant. Dressed in overcoats to ward off the unseasonal cold, the guests whistled loudly, held aloft a two-tier cake and sang a deliberately discordant rendition of "joyeux anniversaire".

Fond as he is of events held in his honour, Nicolas Sarkozy would not have enjoyed this one. The placards gave it away, particularly the one that read: "Sarkozy: a pandemic all by himself".

President Sarkozy has chosen not to mark the second anniversary of his arrival at the Elysée Palace. And it is not hard to see why. His approval ratings, once riding high at more than 60%, have slumped to the low 30s. One poll released last week suggested that 63% of the population were disappointed with his first 24 months. The number of people who approve of his social policies stands at a dismal 36%.

The political facts on the ground are incontestable: the rapidly rising unemployment rate reached 8.6% in February and among the young the figure is a demoralising 21%; public sector strikes are commonplace and millions have turned out in recent months to protest against the government.

Each week a new constituency makes its grievances known: last week it was prisons, the week before hospitals. Universities have been paralysed for months by the biggest strike action in the history of the French Academy.

Then there are the private sector workers who, faced with mass job cuts and meagre redundancy payouts, kidnap their bosses in the hope of a better deal. "Bossnapping" may yet come to be recognised as the signature protest of the Sarkozy years. >>> Lizzy Davies in Paris | Sunday, May 10, 2009

Obama bin White House Goes Upbeat on the Economy
THE TELEGRAPH: President Barack Obama has launched an upbeat strategy over the economy in the face of approval ratings that have dipped below those of George W Bush at the same stage of his presidency.

President Brack Hussein Obama realizes that being downbeat on the economy doesn’t pay. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Obama is changing his rhetorical course after criticism from fellow Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, that he has sounded too negative in the first weeks of his presidency.

This week he will speak forcefully to Congress and the public about the need to pass his $3.6 trillion budget, which will double the national deficit, while stressing his belief that there is hope ahead.

Mr Obama's sky-high approval ratings have fallen in the past couple of weeks amid widespread gloom over the economy. His approval rating is between 56 and 60 per cent, lower than George W Bush's at a similar stage of his presidency. Barack Obama Goes Upbeat on Economy After Popularity Declines >>> By Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, March 15, 2009

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