Obama most popular leader in the world… in six countries

Just a suggestion to Radio France International, if you’re going to release a poll claiming to show the "world’s most popular leaders," you might want to poll people in more than six countries, or maybe even one or two outside of Europe and North America.  In any event, in the countries that were polled — ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

Just a suggestion to Radio France International, if you're going to release a poll claiming to show the "world's most popular leaders," you might want to poll people in more than six countries, or maybe even one or two outside of Europe and North America. 

Just a suggestion to Radio France International, if you’re going to release a poll claiming to show the "world’s most popular leaders," you might want to poll people in more than six countries, or maybe even one or two outside of Europe and North America. 

In any event, in the countries that were polled — Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States — Barack Obama came in first, followed by the Dalai Lama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Muammar Qaddafi and Hu Jintao were the least popular, though I suspect at least a few hundred million Chinese people might feel differently about that.

(For the record, I’m not saying Obama isn’t the most popular — larger surveys have shown that too — just that Western Europe isn’t "the world.")

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.