Leaders face doubts about war on terrorism

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is isn’t the only world leader facing doubts about his handling of the war on terrorism – people in Australia and Italy also harbour reservations about how well their nation’s leaders are holding terrorists at bay.

Prime Minister John Howard of Australia and Premier Silvio Berlusconi of Italy get weak marks from their people for their handling of the war on terrorism, according to Associated Press-Ipsos polling in their countries.

The leaders happen to be staunch allies of the war in Iraq.

Leaders of several countries that opposed the Iraq war get strong ratings from their people on handling terrorism.

The political leaders who joined the Iraq war coalition have faced pressure related to their stance on Iraq.

Australia’s prime minister won re-election on Saturday despite criticism of his support of the Iraq war. The public is evenly divided on Howard’s handling of terrorism. But Howard apparently was helped by Australia’s strong economy.

Bush faces an election on November 2 in a campaign that is increasingly centred on Iraq, with public doubts increasing about the effects of the Iraq war on the terrorism fight.

Blair is likely to face election in the spring and only a third of Britons approve of his government’s handling of the war on terrorism. The Friday announcement of the beheading in Iraq of British hostage Kenneth Bigley is likely to increase pressure on Blair.

Italian leader Berlusconi has seen fears of terrorism increase sharply since last winter – from seven in 10 worried about terrorism in February to almost nine in 10 now. Just over a third of Italians approve of the government’s handling of terrorism.

Two Italian women taken hostage in Iraq were freed last month, and an Iraqi who lived in Italy was executed by kidnappers in Iraq earlier this month. Berlusconi has pledged to lead the country until the end of his term in 2006.

In contrast, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain all get high marks for their handling of terrorism – with a majority in each country saying they approve, according to polls conducted for the AP by Ipsos, an international polling firm.

French President Jacques Chirac, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Mexican President Vicente Fox and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero have all stated their opposition to the US-led war in Iraq.

Canada’s Prime Minister Paul Martin has been less outspoken in his opposition, but no Canadian troops have been sent to Iraq.

Spain pulled its troops out of Iraq after the Socialist Zapatero defeated Bush-ally, conservative Jose Maria Aznar, in an election three days after the March 11 train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people.