Daily Research News Online no. 3698 - Kofi Annan Reaches Europeans but not Americans

Kofi Annan Reaches Europeans but not Americans

January 11 2005

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is the person most trusted by Europeans to provide information about the world's Millennium Development Goals (MDG), according to a recent Harris Interactive survey. However, in the US he is way down the list.

Annan topped the poll in Germany and France and in Great Britain tied for first place with rock star and philanthropist Bob Geldof. But in the United States Kofi Annan was eleventh on the list with George Bush, Jimmy Carter and Oprah Winfrey the people trusted most by the largest numbers of Americans to update them on MDG progress.

These significant differences are another example of the emerging widening attitudinal divide between Europe and the United States, whether on Iraq, global warming and the Kyoto treaty or on the role of the United Nations.

In the United States, no single leader was trusted most by more than the 23% who mentioned George Bush. Other leaders chosen as most trusted by more than 10 percent of the general public were Jimmy Carter (17%), Oprah Winfrey (16%), Tom Brokaw (14%), and Colin Powell (13%).

The United Kingdom poll puts Annan and Bob Geldof each on 30%, followed by Nelson Mandela (24%), Tony Blair (15%), Prince Charles (15%) and the Dalai Lama (10%).

In France, Kofi Annan was chosen by 35%, followed by Jacques Chirac (27%), the Dalai Lama (24%), Nelson Mandela (24%), and Pope John Paul II (11%).

In Germany, 43% chose Kofi Annan (the largest endorsement for any leader among the four countries). He was followed by Nelson Mandela (31%), Gerhard Schroeder (25%), the Dalai Lama (18%), Mikhail Gorbachev (12%), and Horst Koehler (11%).

More than 10% in all three European countries chose not only Kofi Annan but also Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama, neither of whom were chosen by many Americans.

Trust In Leaders In Four Countries To Provide Information About Development
“Assuming you wanted to know more about the Millennium Goals, which one of the following people would you trust the most to provide that information? Which person would be your second choice?” (List includes only those mentioned by 5% or more)
Base: All Adults
U.S.	%	Great Britain	%	France	%	Germany	%
George Bush	23	Kofi Annan	30	Kofi Annan	35	Kofi Annan	43
Jimmy Carter	17	Bob Geldof	30	Jacques Chirac	27	Nelson Mandela	31
Oprah Winfrey	16	Nelson Mandela	24	Dalai Lama	24	Gerhard Schroeder	25
Tom Brokaw	14	Tony Blair	15	Nelson Mandela	24	Dalai Lama	18
Colin Powell	13	Prince Charles	15	Pope John Paul II	11	Mikhail Gorbachev	12
Billy Graham	8	Dalai Lama	10	Dominique de Villepain	9	Horst Koehler	11
Pope John Paul II	8	Prince William	8	Michael Moore	8	Wolfgang Thierse	9
Bill Clinton	8	Pope John Paul II	8	Sting	7	Pope John Paul II	6
Hillary Clinton	8	Sting	7	Bono	6	Tony Blair	5
Laura Bush	7	Bono	7	Tony Blair	5
Kofi Annan	6	Gordon Brown	6
Condoleezza Rice	5	Michael Moore	5
Nelson Mandela	5
Elizabeth Dole	5

Harris Interactive surveyed adults in four nations online - 22,166 in the United States, 7,373 in Great Britain, 6,947 in Germany, and 3,607 in France. European interviews took place between June 17 and July 2 and American between August 18 and September 8.

Harris Interactive is online at www.harrisinteractive.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.