THE WHOLE WORLD EXCEPT ISRAEL  SIDES AGAINST BUSH

Ten leading international newspapers sponsor polls on U.S. elections

MONTREAL-PRNewswire/ - In a world overwhelmingly opposed to the re-election of President George W. Bush and to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the United States can look first to the Russian and Israeli peoples for support. That is a primary conclusion of national opinion polls on the upcoming U.S. election, the U.S. role in Iraq and in world affairs, sponsored by ten of the world's largest newspapers outside of the United States. The survey by ten leading international newspapers was initiated and coordinated by Montreal's La Presse, Canada's leading French-language national newspaper. Other newspapers participating in the survey include: Le Monde (France); The Guardian (Great Britain); Asahi Shimbun (Japan); Joong-Ang Daily News (South Korea); Sydney Morning Herald (Australia); El Pais (Spain); Haaretz (Israel); Reforma (Mexico); and Moscow News (Russia). Approximately 1000 persons per country were interviewed by professional polling firms in each country. The polling sample provides a scientific measure of public opinion in the ten countries, which have a total population of 640 million people.

Highlights of the poll include: Opposition to the re-election of President George W. Bush is unequivocal in eight of ten countries, with only Russia (52%) and Israel (50%) supporting the American leader. Opposition is most pronounced in Spain, where only 13% of respondents hope he will be re- elected and only 13% hold a favourable opinion of Mr. Bush; Respondents in Canada (51%) and Great Britain (51%) say the war in Iraq is making a contribution to the war on terrorism; however, in France (80%), Mexico (74%), Spain (73%) and Japan (54%), people responded negatively; 80% or more of respondents in South Korea, Mexico and Spain said the U.S. had no justification for invading Iraq; In every country except Israel, a majority of respondents said that their opinion of the United States had deteriorated during the past three years. The greatest deterioration in favourable opinion occurred in Japan (74%) and France (70%); however, opinions also deteriorated dramatically in Great Britain (45%) and Australia (54%), two close U.S. allies in the Iraq war; Opinions are heavily divided on whether United States democracy remains a model to follow. In the "yes" camp are Israelis (71%), Russians (62%), Japanese (56%) and Canadian (55%). Disagreeing are South Koreans (56%), the British (53%) and Mexicans (48%); International opinions of the U.S. President and U.S. foreign policy do not seem to have affected how the world views the American people.

In every country, a majority of respondents hold favourable opinions toward Americans. Russians (86%) hold the most favourable opinions. Israelis (81%), Japanese (74%), Canadians (73%), French (72%), Australians (72%) and British (62%), all had favourable opinions of Americans. Even in Mexico, where opinions were more divided, a majority (51%) hold a favourable opinion toward their American neighbours; In each country where the question was asked, a strong majority of respondents fear that new terrorist attacks will take place in the United States, with Canadians (75%) being the most concerned; however, that fear is not translated into a fear of travelling to the United States. Russians (91%), Israelis (88%), Canadians (82%) and Mexicans (60%) all said they are not afraid of travelling to the United States at this time. Each of the newspapers that participated in the survey had access to the results of the surveys in all ten countries and published analysis and commentary on the polls in their respective October 15 editions. Full results of the ten polls are available online at www.cyberpresse.ca/us , the on-line news site of La Presse. La Presse is Canada's leading French-language daily newspaper with a weekly readership of 924,000. Based in Montreal, La Presse has correspondents in New York, London, Paris and Washington. SOURCE LA PRESSE. CO: LA PRESSE, ST: Quebec. SU: SVY