Poll: Spaniards' confidence in Biden slips over past year

Trust in US President Joe Biden has fallen in countries across Europe, according to a leading pollster.

In Germany, 64% of respondents have confidence in Biden, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center published in Washington on Wednesday, days before he visits the continent for G7 and NATO summits. Last year, the figure was 78%.

In Italy, Greece, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Britain, too, trust in the US president has declined significantly over the past year.

Biden's ratings are still much better than those of his predecessor Donald Trump. But in countries such as Germany, Britain and France they are significantly worse than those of former president Barack Obama.

In most of the countries surveyed, trust in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also significantly lower than in former chancellor Angela Merkel during her last year in office.

Russia, NATO

The values for Russia are worse in almost all countries surveyed than at any time since the survey began.

In Germany, trust in Russia has fallen from 30% last year to 16% this year. Russia's reputation in Malaysia is the best among the countries surveyed, at 47%.

NATO's reputation has risen in many Western European countries - especially in Germany. In 2021, the approval rating in Germany for NATO was still 59%; this year it has climbed to 70%.

For the survey of international attitudes, Pew questioned 19,903 adults between February 14 and May 11.