In the February survey, we asked our respondents to express their attitudes towards the most important European and world leaders. Out of twelve politicians included in the study, only four had more trust than distrust. The most trusted is Volodymyr Zelensky, with nearly half of all respondents (49%) expressing a positive attitude. More than one-third declare trust in Emmanuel Macron (36%) and Giorgia Meloni (35%). However, the French president encounters distrust nearly twice as often as the Italian prime minister (27% vs. 14%). Keir Starmer also elicits more positive than negative attitudes (16% trust and 11% distrust), although he is the least recognized leader among those on our list: 55% of all respondents do not recognize him.

The others included in the study more often evoke negative than positive reactions. Vladimir Putin (91% distrust) and Alexander Lukashenko (86%) are clearly viewed negatively. More than half of respondents declare distrust towards Donald Trump (56%), Viktor Orbán (53%), and Benjamin Netanyahu (53%). While the leaders of the United States and Hungary have a group of supporters (25% and 18%, respectively), nearly no one trusts the Israeli prime minister (4%). Distrust also prevails towards Ursula von der Leyen (43% distrust vs. 31% trust declarations), Friedrich Merz (24% vs. 17%), and Xi Jinping (32% vs. 10%).

Attitudes towards politicians active on the international stage (February 2026)

We also asked about the attitudes towards seven of the twelve politicians in 2022, shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. We have now noted clear changes in attitudes towards three of them. The most significant changes occurred in the credibility of Volodymyr Zelensky. In July 2022, trust in the leader of Ukraine was nearly universal, reaching 86%. Over three and a half years, it has decreased by 37 percentage points, while declared distrust has increased by 24 points. Despite these unfavourable changes, as mentioned above, Volodymyr Zelensky remains the best-rated foreign politician. During the analysed period, Ursula von der Leyen has also significantly lost in public perception. The percentage of those expressing trust in the head of the European Commission has decreased by 15 points since July 2022, while the proportion voicing their distrust has increased by 23 points. In contrast, Emmanuel Macron has seen a significant increase in his credibility over the past three and a half years. The percentage of those trusting him has increased by 9 points, while the relative number of people expressing distrust has decreased by 12 points.

Attitudes towards politicians active on the international stage (February 2026 and July 2022)