YouGov Poll Shows Brits Most Pessimistic About Future, but Europe Isn’t Exactly Happy Either

A recent YouGov poll reveals a deep-seated pessimism across Europe, with Britons and the French particularly discontented about their nations’ futures as crucial elections approach. Here’s the full story.

Profound Dissatisfaction

With pivotal elections fast approaching in both the UK and France, and following the European elections where the far right returned in greater numbers than ever, a recent YouGov poll has revealed a profound sense of dissatisfaction across several European nations regarding the current sorry state of politics.

Survey Details

The survey, which was conducted in late May and early June, just before the European elections, included responses from citizens of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Denmark, highlighting a pervasive lack of optimism about the future.

Britons Most Pessimistic

Among the seven European nations surveyed, perhaps unsurprisingly given our often pessimistic outlook, Britons emerged as the most likely to describe their country as being in a dire state.

High Dissatisfaction in UK

An overwhelming 80% of respondents in the UK rated the state of their country as either “very bad” or “fairly bad.” This level of dissatisfaction was higher than in any other surveyed nation.

UK vs. Western Nations

Additionally, 43% of Britons believed that the UK was generally worse compared to other Western nations, with only 10% expressing that the UK was better off.

French Misery

However, Brits have some reason to be cheerful as our long-standing rivals and the butt of many of our jokes, the French, were equally miserable.

French Pessimism

While the French were slightly less critical of their current situation than the Britons, with 71% describing their country’s state as “very bad” or “fairly bad,” they were the most pessimistic about the future.

Future Decline in France

Half of the French respondents anticipated that their country’s condition would deteriorate over the next 12 months, which is particularly interesting given the country’s upcoming elections, in which the far right is expected to do very well.

German Negativity

In Germany, 70% of respondents shared a negative view of their country’s current state, which was likely compounded by, again, the rise of the far right in the form of the anti-immigrant AfD party, which recently outperformed all three parties in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition.

Germany’s Future Outlook

Looking ahead, 43% of Germans expected things to worsen in the coming year. Similarly, 68% of respondents in Italy were unhappy with the present state of affairs, and 30% predicted a further decline over the next year.

Spain’s Worries

In Spain, 67% of those surveyed felt their country was in a bad state, with 35% fearing things would worsen.

Sweden’s Relative Optimism

While slightly more optimistic, Sweden still had 49% of respondents indicating a negative view of their country’s current condition. Interestingly, Sweden had one of the lowest levels of pessimism about the future, with only 28% expecting a decline over the next year.

Danish Optimism

Denmark stood out as the sole beacon of relative optimism in a survey in which dire predictions were the order of the day.

Danes’ Positive Views

Only 25% of Danes thought their country was in a bad way, and a mere 15% anticipated things would get worse over the next 12 months. In results that will likely seem incomprehensible to Brits following years of political and economic turmoil, nearly half of the Danish respondents (47%) believed their country was doing better than other Western nations.

Timing and Impact

The timing of this survey, coinciding with the European parliamentary elections, has brought into sharp focus the broader political issue of extreme voter dissatisfaction.

2024 Elections and Issues

With 2024 being a year of elections in the UK, across Europe, and around the world, a confluence of issues, from the impending climate catastrophe, the rise of the far right, immigration concerns, and a general feeling of malaise seems to have permeated the electorate of each European nation. Except for Denmark, who are, apparently, having a great time watching the nations around them crumble.

UK Political Landscape

With the UK election on the 4th of July expected to end 14 years of Conservative mismanagement, in which political and economic chaos reigned supreme, it is notable that even the Labour Party, who are widely expected to sweep to power in a landslide, are being cautious in their offerings to an electorate which appears increasingly desperate for change.

Macron’s Far-Right Issues

Similarly, in France, Macron’s constant appeasement of the far right has not placated them, as he likely hoped, but, similar to what happened in the years before the Second World War when fascists were constantly given the benefit of the doubt, it has only emboldened them.

Deep-Seated Lack of Faith

With several seemingly intractable problems bearing down on humanity and a political system which has either been captured by the far right or has desperate centrists trying to fiddle while the world burns, it is perhaps unsurprising that there appears to be a deep-seated lack of faith among voters in politicians’ ability to enact meaningful change.

Widespread Discontent

While the YouGov poll paints a picture of a continent grappling with widespread discontent and uncertainty about the future, apart from Denmark, those lucky sods, the general mood across the surveyed European nations is one of extreme dissatisfaction and profound pessimism.

Future Uncertainty

It remains to be seen if politicians can address the underlying causes of this discontent and rebuild trust and optimism among their citizens before the apathy they have inspired drags us all back into the dark.

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The post YouGov Poll Shows Brits Most Pessimistic About Future, but Europe Isn’t Exactly Happy Either first appeared on Edge Media.

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Claudio Divizia.