Brits, French express pessimism amid EU elections: Poll
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As elections near in the UK and France, people do not seem happy and the French expect the situation to worsen.
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People walk outside the Houses of Parliament during a sunny day in London, on September 4, 2023. (AP)
As elections near in the United Kingdom and France, both Britons and the French are expected to be the most pessimistic about their countries among other European nations, with the latter expecting the situation to worsen over the next 12 months, according to a recent poll on YouGov.
British voters are expected to go to the polls on July 4 in a ballot that would potentially end the 14-year Conservative rule, and the French vote on July 7 is expected to support the far-right and a hung parliament.
Asked whether they thought their country was in bad in any way at the moment, 80% of respondents in the UK replied “very bad” or “fairly bad” – compared with 71% in France, 70% in Germany, 68% in Italy, 67% in Spain, 49% in Sweden and 25% in Denmark.
When asked about their country, 80% of British respondents described it as "very bad" or "fairly bad" — higher than the figures for France (71%), Germany (70%), Italy (68%), Spain (67%), Sweden (49%), and Denmark (25%), based on a survey by YouGov in early June.
Except for Denmark, most European countries expressed dissatisfaction.
Britons consider their country 'generally worse'
Britons were also the most likely among Western nations surveyed to perceive their country as "generally worse" than others, with 43% believing all or most other countries were better off, 35% considering the UK average, and only 10% thinking it was better.
In comparison, 41% of Italians, 40% of Spaniards, 34% of Germans, 29% of French, 27% of Swedes, and a mere 6% of Danes shared the sentiment that their nation lagged behind others — whereas 47% of Danes believed their country fared better.
Earlier on Sunday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was "concerned" about the far-right's potential win in France's next legislative elections. French President Macron's party is lagging severely with less than two weeks until the first round of snap elections, which he called in reaction to the extreme right's thrashing in European polls.
During an annual summer interview for ARD, Scholz expressed he was "concerned about the elections in France," explaining that he hoped "parties that are not (Marine) Le Pen, to put it that way, are successful in the election. But that is for the French people to decide."
