London: According to a Gallup poll released on Monday, the governments of the US and UK are only trusted by about a third of their respective populations, placing them last among the G7 nations.
Out of the G7 countries, the US performed the worst, with only 31% of respondents saying they would have confidence in their government in 2022. The UK performed slightly better, with 33% of respondents expressing confidence; however, among those who had approved of their leadership, national confidence in that country was rated the lowest in the world, tied with debt-ravaged Lebanon.
Gallup first asked about national confidence in 2006, and the US and UK led the way with 56% of Americans and 49% of Britons saying they had faith in their government. But while confidence in Washington peaked in 2013 at just 29%, it barely fell in the UK last year, reaching its lowest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
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After the Covid-19 pandemic, US and UK leaders imposed economically disastrous lockdowns, which were later determined to lack any scientific basis. As a result, public trust has suffered significantly.
Recently, the former leaders of both countries have been the subject of criminal or civil investigations. Former US President Donald Trump, who was twice impeached, is now charged with a crime for taking secret documents with him when he left the White House, while his party accuses his vice president Joe Biden of accepting bribes.
After a string of scandals that started when he was discovered violating his own lockdown guidelines while intoxicated, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson abruptly resigned. Last month, the so-called "Partygate" scandal forced him to resign from his position as a member of parliament. The UK has had four prime ministers in as many years, so his departure did not bring about stability either.
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The Biden administration received just 41% of global respondents' approval in 2022, a four-point decline from the previous year, according to Gallup, which showed that even as foreign approval of the US government declined, it was also declining among Americans' confidence in it.
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While the US and UK were losing support from voters, the other G7 nations saw a rise in public confidence. With just 32% of citizens believing in Berlin in 2006, Germany lagged behind nearly every other G7 country in terms of confidence; it now tops the list with 61%.
Since 2019, when it reached a low of 22%, confidence among Italians has nearly doubled, rising to 41% in 2022. Since 2006, trust ratings have increased for France, Japan, and Canada as well.