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PM Modi tops global approval rankings, Trump and western leaders trail
PM Modi's approval rating was above some of the most popular world leaders. South Korea's Lee Jae-myung ranked second with a 59 per cent approval rating, while Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei stood at 57 per cent.
Narendra Modi becomes second-longest serving PM
Prime Minister Modi saw the highest approval rating among 25 global leaders listed. His domestic disapproval stood at just 18 per cent, while 7 per cent of respondents had no opinion. This comes as PM Modi completed 4,078 consecutive days in office on July 25, 2025, surpassing Indira Gandhi's record of 4,077 days between January 1966 and March 1977. This achievement makes him the second-longest serving Prime Minister in a single continuous term, behind only India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.
Donald Trump's approval hits new low
US President Donald Trump has a 44 per cent approval rating, countered by a significant 50 per cent disapproval. This is higher than his approval rating conducted by a Gallup poll between July 7–21. Trump's approval rating has dropped to 37 per cent — the lowest of his second term and just above his all-time low of 34 per cent. The decline is sharpest among independents, whose support has plunged 17 points since January to 29 per cent.
Though Republican approval of his policy handling ranges from 70 per cent to 93 per cent, support from independents and Democrats is minimal, with no issue crossing 36 per cent approval among independents and none exceeding 12 per cent among Democrats.
Trump's second-quarter average approval stands at 40 per cent, well below the 59 per cent post-WWII presidential average. Only Richard Nixon's 44 per cent during Watergate comes close.
Public discontent with western bloc leader
Several leaders from North America and Europe continue to struggle with low domestic approval ratings. UK Labour leader Keir Starmer, currently in his first year in office, faces a challenging public perception, garnering just 26 per cent approval against a 65 per cent disapproval rating. Similarly, French President Emmanuel Macron and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala are at the bottom of the list, tied at a mere 18 per cent approval and a staggering 74 per cent disapproval each.
In contrast, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has a stronger showing, with a 56 per cent approval rate despite a 31 per cent disapproval margin.
Mixed sentiments in Europe
Europe presents a varied picture. While Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk holds a 41 per cent approval rating, other leaders such as Italy's Giorgia Meloni (40 per cent), Germany's Friedrich Merz (34 per cent), and Austria's Christian Stocker (34 per cent) face more tepid support. Their disapproval ratings remain high, ranging between 50 and 58 per cent.
The tracker also shows strong domestic discontent in Spain, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez holds only 30 per cent approval, with 63 per cent of respondents disapproving of his leadership.
Emerging markets and new faces
Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico's newly-elected president, has received a 53 per cent approval rating in her early days in office, while Switzerland's Karin Keller-Sutter garnered 48 per cent. Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sees his numbers slip, now standing at 32 per cent approval with 60 per cent disapproving.
Global leader approval ratings (July 2025, Morning Consult)
Global leader approval ratings
No. Leader Country Approval Disapproval No Opinion
1 Narendra Modi India 75 per cent 18 per cent 7 per cent
2 Lee Jae-myung South Korea 59 per cent 29 per cent 13 per cent
3 Javier Milei Argentina 57 per cent 37 per cent 6 per cent
4 Mark Carney Canada 56 per cent 31 per cent 13 per cent
5 Anthony Albanese Australia 54 per cent 35 per cent 11 per cent
6 Claudia Sheinbaum Mexico 53 per cent 40 per cent 7 per cent
7 Karin Keller-Sutter Switzerland 48 per cent 28 per cent 24 per cent
8 Donald Trump United States 44 per cent 50 per cent 6 per cent
9 Donald Tusk Poland 41 per cent 49 per cent 11 per cent
10 Giorgia Meloni Italy 40 per cent 54 per cent 6 per cent
11 Cyril Ramaphosa South Africa 37 per cent 54 per cent 10 per cent
12 Bart De Wever Belgium 36 per cent 50 per cent 14 per cent
13 Friedrich Merz Germany 34 per cent 58 per cent 8 per cent
14 Christian Stocker Austria 34 per cent 54 per cent 12 per cent
15 Jonas Gahr Støre Norway 33 per cent 60 per cent 6 per cent
16 Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Turkey 33 per cent 50 per cent 17 per cent
17 Ulf Kristersson Sweden 33 per cent 58 per cent 9 per cent
18 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Brazil 32 per cent 60 per cent 7 per cent
19 Dick Schoof Netherlands 32 per cent 50 per cent 18 per cent
20 Pedro Sánchez Spain 30 per cent 63 per cent 6 per cent
21 Keir Starmer United Kingdom 26 per cent 65 per cent 10 per cent
22 Shigeru Ishiba Japan 20 per cent 66 per cent 15 per cent
23 Emmanuel Macron France 18 per cent 74 per cent 8 per cent
24 Petr Fiala Czech Republic 18 per cent 74 per cent 9 per cent
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The Wire
26 minutes ago
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Operation Sindoor: Narendra Modi's Image Versus National Interest
Prime minister Narendra Modi should know that seeking the cooperation of opposition parties to project India's case abroad after Operation Sindoor must necessarily be accompanied by showing some respect for the opposition in domestic politics. You cannot seek opposition cooperation to present a unified foreign policy position abroad and continue to treat opposition parties as "enemies" in domestic politics. After all, it was the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat who had advised the Bharatiya Janata Party not to treat the opposition as enemies and also constructive engagement after the BJP's disappointing performance at the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In this regard has Modi learnt any lessons from the 2024 Lok Sabha results? The basic attitude and approach doesn't seem to have changed. Modi still believes that he can cynically manipulate the opposition through coercive politics without showing any sincerity of purpose. It is common knowledge now that Operation Sindoor, though a limited success, was badly bungled at several levels and mistakes were made which could have been avoided. This is something the government is yet to admit buy responsible Indian military officers have dropped adequate hints in public fora. When an honest military officer cited " restraint from political leadership" as a reason for some Indian fighter planes going down, he was serving the interest of truth. The Modi government's initial silence on the other hand was meant to protect the prime minister's image. Modi was clearly on the backfoot after operation Sindoor and was unable to fully convince his own constituency (including the RSS) that it was an unqualified success. He therefore swallowed his ego for the first time and approached the opposition parties to take part in a joint delegation to present India's case abroad as no country had explicitly condemned Pakistan's role in the Pahalgam terror attack. The Congress party led by Rahul Gandhi has been been raising tough questions around Operation Sindoor and sought a special session of parliament to discuss everything threadbare. Other opposition parties wanted the same. But then the cynical, coercive and manipulative template of politics is embedded in the regime's DNA. The opening of the parliament session was marked by the unprecedented resignation of vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar. This was the distraction the BJP needed to create chaos and disrupt what might have been a relatively more orderly parliament session with the citizens eager to learn more about the critical issues of national interest such as Operation Sindoor and the stupendous claims by US president Donald Trump on India-Pakistan ceasefire linked to trade talks. The reality is that the president of the world's biggest military power has repeated 25 times that he stopped the India-Pakistan military exchange which was about to spillover to the nuclear domain with the threat of trade. Whether Modi likes it or not, this issue will have to be discussed in parliament. The people of this country cannot be kept in the dark simply because Modi's personal image is to be kept intact. This, in fact, is the nub of the issue. Operation Sindoor and the multiple issues it has thrown up demands an open discussion in parliament to further national interests. But the regime's ecosystem is bent upon creating distractions and confusion to protect Modi's image. So national interest and the ruling ecosystem's attempt to save Modi's image are totally at odds with each other today. This was apparent even during Operation Sindoor. 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