US Image in Greece and Across the World Rebounds With Biden Survey Finds

The United States’ image has improved sharply in Greece ever since Joe Biden became President, according to a Pew Research Center study published on Thursday.

The study polled respondents from 16 countries and found that perceptions of the US improved in all of them since the 46th president took office.

US image improves dramatically in Greece

For most nations, the Pew study compared the difference in perception of the US between 2020 and 2021. However, for Greece, only figures from 2019 were available. Regardless, there is a strong indication of an increase in Greek public opinion of the US.

It seems that in 2019, only 25 percent of Greeks had confidence in the US president to “do the right thing.” However, by 2021, this figure had increased to 67 percent. This reflects a rise of 42 percentage points in the US’ image in Greece.

 

This increase in faith in the president himself seems to go hand in hand with an increase in favorable opinions of the US as a whole for Greeks. The results of the study also show that in 2019, 54 percent of Greeks had a favorable view of the country whereas in 2021, 63 percent did, representing an increase of almost 10 percentage points.

This is a very significant development, as Greece and the US have historically had a very good diplomatic relationship which can now once more be reflected by public opinion as well.

Perceptions of the US improve worldwide

The study also revealed a wider trend pointing to an increase in positive perceptions of the US. More than six in ten individuals in all the countries surveyed believed that Biden would do what they considered to be “the right thing” in terms of world affairs.

For the 12 nations which were polled both in 2020 and 2021, a median of 75 percent have confidence in Biden, which stands in stark contrast with the measly 17 percent who felt the same for Donald Trump last year.

The biggest change in perceptions of the president was recorded in Sweden and Belgium, who both saw an increase of 70 percentage points in terms of confidence in the president himself.

Furthermore, nearly eight in ten Germans (78 percent) have confidence in Biden, in comparison to only 10 percent who said the same of Trump last year.

In Germany, the UK, Spain and France, faith in presidencies have followed a fairly steady pattern. Ratings for George W. Bush and Trump were similarly low, whereas Biden seems to have captured a high show of faith similar to that recorded of Barack Obama.

However, the US’ image is not favorable across the board despite the new presidency. Only 50 percent of people believed the United States’ political system is functioning well, with many attributing their issues with the system to the US’ handling of the coronavirus pandemic.