European citizens speak out on the first European President
Only 12% of the Europeans Know Herman Van Rompuy, European Citizens’ Favorite Candidate was Tony Blair
Although Herman Van Rompuy was appointed as the first ‘European President’ last Thursday, he doesn’t seem to be the European citizen’s favorite. On the contrary.
Based on the results of a large European opinion study from the international opinion polling agency Proximity Panels, it became apparent that the Belgian Prime Minister, Herman Van Rompuy, is only known by 12% of the European citizens. The name Tony Blair (UK) on the other hand rings a bell for 70% of the European citizens. Second best, but lagging behind, is Mary Robinson from Ireland who is known by 1 out of 5 Europeans (19%).
The number 1 favorite candidate by far is Tony Blair. Almost 1/3 of the Europeans are convinced he makes an ideal candidate. The Belgian Herman Van Rompuy only appeals to 5% or 1 out of 20.
On the other hand, the fact that he is Belgian seems to make up for it, since only 1% vetoes a Belgian candidate, whereas putting a Brit in charge would be a bad move according to 16% of the Europeans.
More Striking Results
- “As expected, EU citizens still have a very strong national sentiment, even when it comes to the European Union and its institutions”, states Steven Deketelaere, Chairman of Proximity Panels. Most of the citizens prefer the European President to be a national from their own country.
- It has proven to be a tough case to get the national leaders at the European Summit to achieve consensus on one candidate and there is also a lack of consensus among the citizens. This is mostly due to the fact that, besides Tony Blair, all the other people on the shortlist are not very well known. What is most striking is the fact that more than 25% have no opinion on the subject. “The European Union is still being perceived as something way over people’s heads”, Steven Deketelaere argues. The distance between their own national capital and “Brussels” can sometimes be much further in people’s minds than it really is.
- Nevertheless, people who perceive the European Union as something negative are in the minority.
More detailed findings directly available on http://www.proximitypanels.com
Source: Proximity Panels – IVOX
Comments
Leave a Reply