Marine Strauss
ReutersWed, 05 May 2021 03:07 UTC
© Reuters/Cheney OrrMask protesters in Tucson, Arizona
Fifty-eight percent of people living in the world's democracies are satisfied with the
response of their government to the COVID-19 pandemic though over half believe their freedoms have been overly restricted, a survey published on Wednesday found.
The survey of over
50,000 people from 53 countries also found that a little more than half feel their nation is democratic but many view economic inequality and the power of big tech companies as threats to democracy.Though the majority of respondents approve of how their governments had responded to the pandemic,
53 percent feel their personal freedoms have been excessively curbed by lockdowns, according to the survey.
"We now need to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering more democracy and freedom to people," said
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Chair of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which along with AI-powered brand tracking firm Latana
conducted the survey.Some 64% of those questioned regarded
economic inequality as the single biggest threat to democracy around the world. Respondents in the United States were most concerned with
Big Tech companies' impact on democracy.Almost half of those surveyed globally worried about the United States threatening their democracy, while
38% feared Chinese influence and some
27% were wary of that of Russia.
With the election of President Joe Biden, the perception of U.S. influence on democracy globally has improved from Donald Trump's administration. However, in Europe, Russia and China, U.S. influence is still mainly perceived as negative.
Overall, 62% of respondents thought social media had a positive impact on democracy in their country. The global figure included 76% in Venezuela and 72% in Hong Kong where social media were used to organise protests and then banned.
The U.S. reading stood at only 41%.Most of the 53 countries included in the survey were multi-party democracies, with others including China, Venezuela, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
Comment: The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) survey
revealed:
Public approval had actually grown in some countries, including Russia and Chile. Both nations have rolled out mass vaccination campaigns, Russia using its own Sputnik V, and Chile China's CoronaVac, manufactured by Sinovac.
According to the report, the least satisfied countries were Italy, France, and Poland. Dissatisfaction is also on the rise in Latin America.
© Latana.comThe Democracy Perception Index
The survey also examined people's opinions of Covid-19 restrictions and discovered that many felt their government was increasingly limiting their basic freedoms. According to the findings, this year, 53% of people around the world reported feeling state intervention had gone too far, while, last year, this figure stood at 45%. The report points out that concern at the restrictions had increased most in Europe, especially in Hungary, France, and Ireland, although it was still higher overall in less democratic countries (60%).
The DPI is the world's largest annual study on democracy, being representative of more than 75% of the world's population. This year's online survey polled more than 53,000 individuals in 53 countries between February 24 and April 14.
And this from a
Gallup Poll, published May 5, 2021, shows enthusiasm for vaccines is on the wane:
A greater percentage of Americans are now more worried about declining demand for COVID-19 vaccines than they are about the availability of doses.
The survey found that with more than half of U.S. adults now having had at least one shot, about 55 percent are worried about members of their local community refusing to get vaccinated.
Democrats included in the survey expressed much more concern than Republicans, with roughly 4 in 5 Democrats and 78 percent of those worried about contracting COVID-19 saying they were worried about people in their area not being vaccinated.
Comparatively, only 23 percent of Republicans and 45 percent of those who said they were not worried about being infected said they were concerned about vaccine demand.
CVS Health on Tuesday said that the demand for vaccines at its locations across the U.S. has dropped by nearly a third in recent days.
A CBS News analysis released Monday found that as the pace of vaccinations slows across the country, at least 22 states are not requesting their full inoculation allotments.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki addressed the slowing vaccination rate last month, adding that the Biden administration was working to address the issue of supply outpacing demand.
Gallup's Wednesday poll, conducted April 19-25, surveyed 3,731 U.S. adults and reported a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Comment: The Democracy Perception Index (DPI) survey revealed: And this from a Gallup Poll, published May 5, 2021, shows enthusiasm for vaccines is on the wane: