Western Leaders Face Record Unpopularity Amidst Crises
On April 15, 2024, in London, around 50 people gathered at Downing Street for an annual Eid al-Fitr celebration, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The neighborhood houses the prime minister and chancellor as well as several other important offices. Many attendees noted that the number of partygoers was about half of the usual, the lack of presence likely a form of protest due to controversies around the Conservative government’s pro-Israel stances. Several notable absences included Baroness Warsi, the first Muslim cabinet minister, and a majority of the Members of Parliament (MPs) usually expected to be in attendance.
But perhaps the most remarkable absence was that of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who had been urged not to attend by pro-Palestinian protestors furious with his policy on the Israel-Gaza War. For Sunak, this was the latest in a series of misfortunes. Sunak made history as the first British Indian Prime Minister in late 2022, when he came to power, unelected, in the United Kingdom after the rapid-fire resignations of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. That was perhaps the highest point of his time in the limelight.
Sunak, portrayed by opponents and the partisan media as an indecisive loser incapable of doing his job, has been plagued with a number of crises, including rising living costs, energy supply shortages, and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Though Sunak pitched his government to be a fresh start to the swarms of Britons unhappy with the status quo, his approval rating stands at an abysmal 23% as of March. Johnson left office with 25% and Truss exited with 11%. As leaders resign in quick succession and become surrounded by controversy, many British voters have begun to become increasingly frustrated with their politicians.
They’re not alone. Many leaders in western society are struggling to keep up their approval ratings. In 2024 alone, Olaf Scholz became the lowest rated Chancellor in German history amid economic crises and brawls in the legislature. Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar resigned after backlash following a stunning defeat of a women’s rights referendum many believed would be guaranteed to pass, and the United States is set to have its two most unpopular modern presidents, Joe Biden and Donald Trump, have a rematch in a November election. Leaders in Japan, Canada, Italy, France and many other Western countries are also facing pushback for their job performances. In the so-called “developed world” not a single leader has above a 50% rating.
The question many global politicians and strategists are scratching their heads about is why people’s faith in government has gone down. For experts the answer goes beyond a few faulty gaffes or poor policies. World History Teacher Robert Nelson weighed in on the issue.
Robert said, “Throughout most of human recorded history, leaders are the ones who are literate... they can basically create the narrative themselves.” However, Robert also pointed out that intellectual landmarks like the Enlightenment and the creation of the printing press have expanded the risk of controversy. He spoke about the Digital Age in particular. “The internet is definitely responsible for the degree to which we can express ourselves; the mask of anonymity allows people to say things that are more critiquing and edgy and those things get repeated in a way they never used to.”
Unhappiness has soared since the COVID-19 pandemic and mass lockdowns, especially amongst youth, who are the most active on social media and similar digital services. Robert says that older groups are also frustrated with how the economic successes of the late 20th century “are never going to come back in quite the same way,” and thus these groups have placed their blame on current institutions. He also points to the growing polarization between leftists and rightists that accounts for increasingly negative views of the other side.
Despite this, Robert said, “I think it’s possible to unite a majority of Americans through common sense [policies] that serve a vast majority of people rather than a smaller segment of wealthier or elite people.” Though he acknowledged that political debates in a democracy are healthy, he believes that ideological divide is not.
Robert said,“Historically, the thing that unites Americans most is tragedy.” George W. Bush soared to a 90% approval rating after the 9/11 attacks, and even Joe Biden rose in popularity after Ukraine was invaded by Russia.
But as across the western world economic disaster soars and political parties quarrel, it would take a tragedy worse than any yet in this decade to calm the flames of division.
