Latest news with #PublicOpinion
Russia Today
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Russia Today
Brussels gripped by anti-Russian ‘war hysteria' – MEP (VIDEO)
Anti-Russian sentiment in Brussels verges on 'war hysteria,' Fernand Kartheiser, a Luxembourgish MEP recently expelled from his parliamentary group over a visit to Moscow, has said to RT. The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR Group) in the European Parliament expelled Kartheiser on Wednesday, accusing him of 'crossing a red line' with his recent visit to Russia. The MEP explained that his trip last month was an attempt to 're-establish some sort of dialogue' with Russia at a time of international tensions. In an interview with RT on Sunday, Kartheiser admitted he expected the ECR to react badly, given that some in the group maintain 'very pronounced anti-Russian stances.' The expulsion is symptomatic of 'the general attitude towards Russia in the European Parliament,' he said. 'Sometimes I would think that we could touch upon war hysteria. We are not rational in many of our attitudes,' he stated. But common citizens in the EU reacted differently to his Russia visit, he stressed. Kartheiser said that 'people in the streets come to me, congratulate me, shake hands, tap me on the shoulder. It's unbelievable.' 'It is clear that there is a divide between the official circles in the European Union, which have a very anti-Russia stance, and the general public,' according to the MEP. The regular people in the EU are 'much, much more moderate and would really wish to see some dialogue with Russia so that we could sort out our differences in a civilized way,' he added. Ahead of the trip, Baltic and Nordic delegations in the ECR had warned Kartheiser that they would push to exclude him if he went to Moscow, the Luxembourg Times reported. The Baltic, Polish, and Scandinavian factions within the parliamentary group are especially outspoken in their anti-Russian stances, Kartheiser told RT. Brussels adopted a tough stance and imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. Despite US President Donald Trump's push to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the EU has doubled down on arming Kiev. Moscow has accused Brussels of striving to derail the US-brokered peace effort and stressed that recent EU moves to boost defense spending make it the 'war party' of Europe.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE What Meghan's neighbors are all brutally laughing about behind her back... revealed to KENNEDY by her Montecito mole
Blimey! A new opinion poll is a wake-up call for The Sovereign of Santa Barbara, the Viscountess of Montecito, Me-Me-Meghan Markle. A survey of American adults found that a meager 41 percent of Meghan's countrymen hold a positive opinion of the Duchess of Do-overs – as she seems to careen from one failed post-Megxit career relaunch to the next.
Daily Mail
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE KENNEDY: My Montecito mole just told me what Meghan's neighbors are all cruelly laughing about behind her back... frankly, it makes me sad
Blimey! A new opinion poll is a wake-up call for The Sovereign of Santa Barbara, the Viscountess of Montecito, Me-Me-Meghan Markle. A survey of American adults found that a meager 41 percent of Meghan's countrymen hold a positive opinion of the Duchess of Do-overs – as she seems to careen from one failed post-Megxit career relaunch to the next.
CBC
28-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Poll finds Albertans' attachment to Canada has grown as support for separatism has hardened
Like many Albertans, Michelle Schamehorn was disappointed by the Liberal victory in last month's federal election. But she's not on board with the escalating rhetoric surrounding Alberta separation. "For me, no. I don't want to separate," said the resident of Taber, Alta., who works at a local truck dealership and feels most Canadian when she's snowshoeing in the mountains. "I'm proud to be Canadian. Very, very proud to be Canadian." She remains squarely in the majority in this province, according to new polling commissioned by CBC News, which asked a random sample of 1,200 people across Alberta their views on a variety of topics. When it came to the question of whether Alberta would be better off if it separated from Canada, 67 per cent disagreed while 30 per cent agreed. The result was almost identical to a similar poll that asked the same question five years earlier. One thing that has changed, however, is the strength of support among the Alberta separatists. In May 2020, only 12 per cent "strongly" agreed. By May 2025, that had grown to 17 per cent. The poll also found a shift in public opinion at the other end of the spectrum. Asked whether they feel more attachment to Alberta or to Canada, 34 per cent now picked their country over their province. That's up from just 20 per cent five years ago. There was little change in those who feel more attachment to Alberta over that same time, while the proportion of those who said "both equally" shrunk substantially. "So, I think we're seeing polarization on both ends," said pollster Janet Brown, who conducted the public-opinion research for CBC News. "When it comes to separation, we're seeing that the number of people who strongly agree with separation is increasing," Brown said. "On the other side, we see the people who are attached to Canada, we see that group growing. The more we talk about separation, the more people are saying that they feel attached to Canada." On a straight ballot question, meanwhile, 28 per cent of Albertans said in the latest polling that they'd vote to separate if a referendum were held today, compared to 67 per cent who would vote against separation. Five per cent said they weren't sure. Trump effect CBC News visited Taber recently to ask people in Alberta's Conservative heartland about what Canada means to them after the rhetoric around separation kicked up. Several residents said they weren't ready to give up on Canada yet, despite their disappointment at seeing the Liberals win a fourth consecutive election. Daybreak Alberta 10:00 We head to Taber to talk about separatist sentiment in Alberta Elise Stolte wanted to hear what Taber residents, a real conservative stronghold, think about the suggestion that the province should separate from the rest of Canada. Schamehorn said she's not a very political person, but the combination of the election defeat, talk of independence and the U.S. tariffs shocked her. It's made her pay more attention, she said, and she doesn't believe Alberta should pick up and walk away in frustration. "We're Canada. We're Alberta. And we need to figure this out," she said. "We have countries that are trying to destroy us right now. And we can't let that happen. We have to figure out how to be strong, together." Taber resident Michelle Schamehorn describes herself as 'very, very proud' to be Canadian. (Elise Stolte/CBC) Brown, the pollster, says the recent tariffs and annexation threats from U.S. President Donald Trump have had a distinct effect on how Albertans view their province and their country. "When you look deeper at the data, there definitely is a connection there," she said. "One of the questions we asked was how stressed out people were about U.S.-Canada trade relations. And it seems like society here in Alberta is breaking into two groups: those people who are very preoccupied with tariffs and those people who aren't that preoccupied with tariffs. In fact, they are more preoccupied with Ottawa than they are with Washington." Albertans who feel stressed by the trade war expressed significantly higher attachment to Canada in the recent polling. Those who said they weren't stressed by it, in contrast, expressed significantly higher attachment to Alberta. 'I guess I'm more Canadian' Rick Tams works with Schamehorn at a truck dealership in Taber. He puts himself in the Canadian-first camp, but with a pretty big asterisk attached. "We are a member of a country first and I live in the province of Alberta, so I guess I'm more Canadian," he said. "But that being said, there's a gap within our own country. It's flawed." Rick Tams in Taber, Alta., describes himself as more Canadian than Albertan but says he's been frustrated by the past 10 years of Liberal government in Ottawa. In his circles, he believes a separation referendum would have a chance. (Elise Stolte/CBC) Tams says he's been frustrated by the past 10 years of Liberal government in Ottawa, in particular when it comes to deficit spending, oil-and-gas regulations and the lack of follow-through on once-promised electoral reform. He says he's seen, first hand, how that's hardened some Albertans' attitudes toward separation. "In the circles I travel in, I think a referendum would have a chance," he said. "That doesn't mean we have to leave. But it does mean people have got to start paying attention." As for himself? "I would like to see just a whole lot more information before there was a vote," Tams said. Political implications Brown says the polling results show a "yes" vote in a hypothetical referendum on separation would almost certainly fail, but at the same time reveal a "sizeable minority of people who are serious about this idea." "You just can't call this a fringe idea anymore," she said. "It's a strong sentiment in the population." The political implications are far-reaching, she added, especially for Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. Brown noted the poll results show Alberta NDP supporters are almost universally opposed to separation, while 54 per cent of UCP supporters said they would vote in favour of it, if a referendum were held today. "Danielle Smith is dealing with a voter base that's split on the issue of separatism, while [NDP Leader] Naheed Nenshi is looking at a voter base who is single-minded on this issue," Brown said. "So that makes it much more challenging for Danielle Smith to manage her way through this." At the same time, Brown said further data from the latest poll suggests Smith is "doing a better job speaking to the middle group — the group who's both attached to Canada and attached to Alberta." "That group maybe wants a new deal from Ottawa but doesn't want to separate," Brown said. "And she is speaking to that group, and I don't think the NDP is yet speaking to that group." The details of that aspect of the poll results — which party is leading in popular support, and why — will be the topic of the next story in this series, which will be published later Wednesday. EDITOR'S NOTE: CBC News commissioned this public opinion research to be conducted immediately following the federal election and leading into the second anniversary of the United Conservative Party's provincial election win in May 2023. As with all polls, this one provides a snapshot in time. This analysis is one in a series of articles from this research. More stories will follow. Methodology: The CBC News random survey of 1,200 Albertans was conducted using a hybrid method from May 7 to 21, 2025, by Edmonton-based Trend Research under the direction of Janet Brown Opinion Research. The sample is representative of regional, age and gender factors. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. For subsets, the margin of error is larger. The survey used a hybrid methodology that involved contacting survey respondents by telephone and giving them the option of completing the survey at that time, at another more convenient time, or receiving an email link and completing the survey online. Trend Research contacted people using a random list of numbers, consisting of 40 per cent landlines and 60 per cent cellphone numbers. Telephone numbers were dialled up to five times at five different times of day before another telephone number was added to the sample. The response rate among valid numbers (i.e., residential and personal) was 12.8 per cent.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Voters like the UK-US reaching a trade deal – they just don't think Trump will follow it
Across the board, Americans and Britons agree that a free-trade agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom is a good idea, but far fewer are confident that President Donald Trump will abide by whatever deal he strikes. On Thursday, Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that the two countries agreed to increase access for U.S. agricultural exports while lowering some levies against the U.K., in the first deal since Trump launched his global trade war. But polling from last month indicates that details of an agreement are less of a concern to adults in the U.S. or U.K. – instead, most people are wary of Trump's unpredictability. While 78 percent of U.S. adults support a free-trade agreement in principle, only 44 percent believe Trump will abide by the terms of an agreement, a Politico and Public First poll conducted last month found. Similarly, 73 percent of U.K. adults said they support the same kind of agreement, but less than 30 percent trust that Trump will keep his word. A signature of Trump's public-facing leadership style is unpredictability. He's known to reverse course on policy approaches and throw people off with sudden sharp rhetoric. Of the 2,000 U.S. adults surveyed between April 23 and 27, 50 percent said they believe the president's unpredictability is his biggest barrier when it comes to negotiations. Those findings are consistent with other polls. In a PBS/NPR/Marist survey, 62 percent of respondents said the president rushes into changes. In a New York Times /Siena College poll, 66 percent of respondents, including 47 percent of Republicans, said the word 'chaotic' described Trump's second term well. Given the majority of U.K. adults opposed Trump's tariffs, they're likely to approve of the deal, which lifted a 25 percent tariff on steel exports and lowered the 27 percent tariff on automobiles to 10 percent for 100,000 vehicles. But for U.S. adults, who are currently facing 145 percent tariffs on China, the U.S.'s second-largest trading partner, and general 10 percent tariffs for nearly every one of its trading partners, the U.S.–U.K. deal is less likely to land happily. While nearly half of Americans believe the U.K. is the most important country to have as an ally, only 20 percent believe it is the most important to have a trade deal with. Trump had only implemented the 10 percent tariff on the U.K., one of the U.S.'s closest allies. That baseline tariff will remain even after the deal. Economists have largely agreed that while the U.S.–U.K. deal is good for their relationship, it's unlikely to make any major economic changes and it certainly won't serve as a blueprint for other trade deals.
