Thumbs down for Bush in global poll

Although Britain is the US’ closest ally in Europe, Britons do not think much of President George Bush, an AP poll in Europe and selected countries of the world has found.

In the AP-Ipsos poll, 41% of those surveyed said they had a “very unfavourable” view of Bush and 23% said “somewhat unfavourable.” Only 8% said they had a “very favourable” view and 22% had a “somewhat favourable” view.

Asked to describe their personal feelings about Bush’s re-election, six in 10 said they were worried and about the same number said they were disappointed.

Americans are viewed favourably by six in 10 Britons, however.

Bush’s re-election was greeted with dismay by many Britons and prompted negative headlines in several British newspapers.

Bush already was unpopular among a wide section of the British public. His perceived unilateralism, his refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol on global warming, his rejection of the international criminal court, the treatment of prisoners in Guantanamo and Iraq, and invading Iraq without widespread backing have contributed to his unpopularity.

“Because of the close ties between Britain and the United States, the US elections were followed with great interest in the United Kingdom,” said Sam McGuire, director of Ipsos-UK Public Affairs.

He noted the reservations Britons have had about US policies were reflected in the high levels of disappointment and worry about the election results.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Tony Blair is Bush’s closest overseas ally and has insisted he will continue to work closely with him during his second four-year term in the White House.

Blair believes Britain has a key role to pay in mending relations between Europe and the US that were tattered by the war in Iraq.

The poll of 1,000 adults was taken Nov. 19-27 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.