Europe Asia News

The new international Politico poll shows that voters’ frustration over persistent financial strain remains an extremely powerful factor today. The POLITICO poll found that ongoing cost-of-living pressures in five major economies continue to reverberate through politics.

The economic crisis that upended global politics last year continues to send shockwaves through some of the world’s largest democracies, punishing incumbents and undermining long-standing political alliances.

In the United States, where Donald Trump returned to power on a campaign of economic populism, nearly two-thirds of voters (65 percent) say the cost of living in the country has worsened further over the past year.

In the United Kingdom, after the Conservative Party fell from power in 2024 following 14 years in government, 77 percent of the public say the cost of living has deteriorated.

In France, amid historically low popularity ratings for President Emmanuel Macron, nearly half of adults (45 percent) say their country is falling behind comparable economies.

In Germany, after prolonged internal disputes over the economy, the governing coalition of former Chancellor Olaf Scholz collapsed last year. There, 78 percent of respondents say the cost of living worsened over the past year.

And in Canada, the post-pandemic economic crisis sparked a public backlash against the government of then–Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who resigned earlier this year. The poll found that 60 percent of adults in the country say the cost of living is at the worst level they can remember.