After a considerable uptick in how favorably French people see their government, it is now Mexico, the UK, and the US that are the countries most unhappy with how their leaders navigated the COVID-19 waters.
According to survey data collated by YouGov, a British data analytics firm, only 41% of Britons and 41% of Americans believe their government did a good job in the coronavirus pandemic. According to the polled data, only Mexicans (40%) currently feel worse about their government.
Perhaps even more significantly, the trend for both the US and the UK shows a significant decrease. A month ago, UK approval rate was leaning on 60%, whereas in the US, it was hovering between 45% and 50%.
Both countries have had disappointing track records when it comes to the COVID situation. The US is still the country with the most cases by far, and the number of cases is still increasing in many parts of the country. After repeated downplaying of the risks, botched testing, and a much larger focus on the country’s economy than on people’s wellbeing, Americans seem to be very unhappy.
Meanwhile, the UK has become the coronavirus “leader” in Europe. While the Old Continent has generally relaxed restrictions for weeks, the UK has struggled immensely to keep its cases under control and while cases are currently dropping with respect to their historical highs, it took far longer than expected to get to this level — and the country is still not out of the woods.
Over the past few days, the UK has reported more coronavirus fatalities than the rest of Europe combined. In addition to the high number of infections and fatalities, the government’s hesitation and lack of clarity have also led to public dismay. The fact that high-ranking official Dominic Cummings broke the lockdown rules and then defied the entire country did little to help the cause.
Sweden’s approval rate also took a plunge as it is becoming increasingly apparent that its strategy is not paying dividends, while the French approval rating (previously the lowest) improved to 42%.
Meanwhile, the countries that seem happiest about the situation are Asian and Scandinavian countries. Vietnam boasts a whopping 97%, which is understandable given its absolutely stellar coronavirus performance — but considering Vietnam’s communist government, the data should be taken with a big grain of salt.
People in Taiwan, Malaysia, and Australia are also very happy with how their elected officials handled the situation, and understandably so. In addition, the gap between Norway, Denmark, and Finland on one hand, and Sweden on the other, is very telling. Here is the full data:
The survey also analyzed how people feel about face masks. Unsurprisingly, Asian countries have the most support for wearing face masks in public, while the UK support is still at 21%. Notably support in the US is at a remarkable 69%, growing dramatically over the past few months.