{"id":2628563,"date":"2026-07-11T11:42:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:42:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/europes-demographic-time-bomb-is-killing-its-leaders-popularity\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:47:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T15:47:59","slug":"europes-demographic-time-bomb-is-killing-its-leaders-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/europes-demographic-time-bomb-is-killing-its-leaders-popularity\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe&#8217;s demographic time bomb is killing its leaders&#8217; popularity"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feuropes-demographic-time-bomb-is-killing-its-leaders-popularity%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2628563&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>European leaders of France, the UK, and Germany currently hold some of the highest unpopularity ratings in modern history. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is the most unpopular in Germany\u2019s history with a 16% approval rate. French president Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer have also faced critically important disapproval polls. Despite their unpopularity, these leaders do not possess unique qualities making them especially despised; instead, they face common challenges across Europe.<\/p>\n<p>Most European countries, especially larger ones, struggle with economic decline driven by demographic issues. Europe\u2019s share of global GDP has decreased from 26.5% in 1990 to 16.1% in 2024, largely due to declining productivity and aging populations. The median age across the EU has risen to 44.9 years, with some countries aging rapidly, like Italy (median age 49.1). An aging workforce reduces productivity,innovation,and economic growth,creating a fiscal crisis for governments as the ratio of workers to retirees worsens-down from four to three in the EU as 2001,with fertility rates also declining.<\/p>\n<p>Reforming pension systems has become a politically fraught issue, with unpopular measures such as raising retirement ages leading to protests and government instability across Europe. Macron\u2019s attempts at pension reform in France have sparked massive protests, and similar efforts in Belgium and the UK have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/disgraced-former-senator-lobbying-senate-republicans-to-confirm-a-criminal-judicial-nominee\/\" title=\"Disgraced Former Senator Lobbying Senate Republicans to Confirm a Criminal Judicial Nominee\">faced fierce opposition<\/a>. demographic-driven economic stagnation, shrinking productivity, and the politics of pension reform are significant hurdles facing European nations, intensifying their economic and political challenges.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The leaders of Western <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/europe\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"81\">Europe\u2019s<\/a> three biggest economies \u2014 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/france\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"387\">France<\/a>, the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-kingdom\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"547\">United Kingdom<\/a>, and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/germany\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"298\">Germany<\/a> \u2014 all hold the records for the most unpopular leaders in modern history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">German Chancellor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/friedrich-merz\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11796\">Friedrich Merz<\/a> holds the unambiguous record for the most <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4557141\/friedrich-merz-german-chancellor-unpopular-polling\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4557141\">unpopular chancellor in Germany\u2019s history<\/a>, with his approval rating hitting 16% in May, according to a Deutschlandtrend\/ARD poll. French President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/emmanuel-macron\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"1303\">Emmanuel Macron<\/a> is either tied with former President Fran\u00e7ois Hollande as the most unpopular French president of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/macarthur-the-end-of-frivolous-religion\/\" title=\"MacArthur: The End of Frivolous Religion?\">past half century<\/a>, or surpasses him in unpopularity, depending on the poll used. Outgoing United Kingdom Prime Minister <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/keir-starmer\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"3660\">Keir Starmer<\/a> made history as the island nation\u2019s most unpopular premier before his resignation, with an Ipsos poll finding just 13% of voters were satisfied with him, compared to 79% who were unsatisfied.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4644718\/us-demands-iran-announce-opening-hormuz\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>US demands Iran publicly announce opening of Strait of Hormuz<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4643757\/mohammad-bagher-zolghadr-iran-target-israel-us-strikes-ceasefire\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Iran will target Israel if US continues strikes after ceasefire collapses, official warns<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4643575\/one-of-spain-deadliest-wildfires-killed-many-others-missing\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>One of Spain\u2019s deadliest wildfires has killed at least 12 people, with 23 others missing<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer attend a press conference at the E5 NATO Summit in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ebrahim Noroozi)<\/p>\n<p>&#8221; data-large-file=&#8221;https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2026\/07\/localimages\/AP26175635707709.jpg?w=696&#8243; &#8220;https:><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer attend a press conference at the E5 NATO Summit in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Ebrahim Noroozi)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But the trio don\u2019t hold special qualities that make them despised \u2014 over the past decade, the leaders of each country have grappled with almost equal unpopularity figures. The U.K.\u2019s six prime ministers since Brexit have all left office despised. All German chancellors after Angela Merkel have <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >faced rock-bottom approval ratings<\/a>, capped by Merz\u2019s historic unpopularity, and Merkel herself has faced a damning reappraisal of her tenure after leaving. Macron, the longest serving of the bunch at nearly a decade, has been underwater in approval since mid 2017.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rest of Western, Northern, and Central Europe are mostly in the same boat, with the notable exceptions being smaller countries \u2014 Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Ireland, and Denmark.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Spain\u2019s official polling body, CIS Bar\u00f3metro, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cis.es\/documents\/d\/guest\/es3567mar_a-pdf\">found<\/a> in June that just 31% said they have any sort of trust in Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, compared to 68% who don\u2019t trust him. The most recent poll from ICS\/Iscte gauging the public\u2019s trust in Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro\u2019s government, in March, found 34% gave it a positive rating and 56% a negative. Only 24% of voters said they were satisfied with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten\u2019s cabinet, compared to 64% dissatisfied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Morning Consult\u2019s global leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/intel.morningconsult.com\/mc-content\/trackers\/global-leader-approval\">approval ratings tracker<\/a> in April had Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever at 35%, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at 39%, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson at 38%, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St\u00f8re at 31%, and Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker at 29%.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While each country faces its own unique challenges, what\u2019s notable are the constants across each. Several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/new-poll-shows-majority-of-generation-z-has-a-negative-view-of-capitalism\/\" title=\"New ... Shows Majority Of Generation Z Has A Negative View Of Capitalism\">key economic issues<\/a> have held across all European countries as they grapple with the same demographic challenges, challenges which are increasingly crippling anyone who takes power regardless of party.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-demographic-driven-stagnation\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Demographic-driven stagnation<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In September 2024, former European Central Bank head and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi released his long-awaited 400-page report, The Future of European Competitiveness, which sent shockwaves through European capitals. The report concluded that Europe was rapidly losing its competitiveness and had lost much of its economic leverage over the past 30 years. In Draghi\u2019s words, for the first time since the Cold War, Europe must \u201cgenuinely fear for our self-preservation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1990, the European Union\u2019s 12 member states accounted for 26.5% of global GDP; by 2024, this share had plummeted to just 16.1%, despite exploding in size to 27 members. The U.S., in contrast, has roughly maintained its share of global GDP over the same period.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Perhaps the biggest factor in this decline has been the sharp decline in productivity; European productivity is now measured at 80% of the U.S., compared with 95% in 1995.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This slouch in productivity, in turn, can largely be credited to Europe\u2019s aging population. The E.U.\u2019s median age went from 39.3 years in 2004 to 44.9 years in 2025, with some countries experiencing rapid aging; Romania aged the fastest at +8.4 years from 2004 to 2024, followed by Portugal at +8.3 years. Italy has the oldest median age at 49.1 years. Due to these demographics, Draghi concluded that unless productivity significantly improves, the E.U.\u2019s economy will be the same size in 2050 as it is today.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2023 <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nber.org\/system\/files\/working_papers\/w22452\/w22452.pdf\">study<\/a> by Harvard economist Nicole Maestas and colleagues examining the effects of aging on GDP per capita from 1980-2010, published in the <em>American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics<\/em>, found that each 10% increase in the fraction of the population aged 60+ decreased GDP per capita by 5.5%. One-third of this reduction came from slower employment growth, while two-thirds came from slower productivity growth. From this decrease, labor compensation and wages also declined.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As Maestas explained to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, her study found deepening structural issues in the economy emanating from an aging population.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOne plausible mechanism is that many of the workers who retire are highly experienced and possess firm-specific knowledge, management expertise, and professional networks that are difficult to replace quickly. When they leave, the loss can reduce the productivity of the remaining workforce through spillover effects \u2014 for example, by reducing mentoring, coordination, or the diffusion of knowledge within firms,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur paper finds evidence consistent with these kinds of spillovers, including declines in wages across the age distribution rather than only among older workers, suggesting that the productivity effects are broad-based,\u201d Maestas added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aging also shrinks the economy\u2019s ability to adapt and innovate, a crippling issue at a time when the U.S. and China\u2019s lead is driven by this exact innovation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMore broadly, an aging workforce may also influence innovation, entrepreneurship, technology adoption, and organizational change,\u201d Maestas explained. \u201cOur empirical design captures the combined effect of all of these channels, so while we cannot isolate each one individually, the results suggest that population aging affects the economy through more than simply changing the age composition of workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This decline in productivity and the other problems associated with an aging population have put European leaders in a fiscal vice, leaving them little room to maneuver. The shocks of recent years, such as the energy shock from the Russia-Ukraine War and the war with Iran, have smashed Europe much harder than it would have in a healthier fiscal environment. European countries are increasingly left without any cushion to manage shocks, further exacerbating their negative effects.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-the-losing-politics-of-pension-reform\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">The losing politics of pension reform<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the biggest and most direct problems with an aging population is the change in the ratio of workers to dependents. In 2001, the E.U. had an average of four working-age people for every retiree. By 2024, this had decreased to three working-age people for every retiree. The proportions vary throughout the continent; the Belgian coastal region of Veurne has nearly 3 elderly people for every 4 working-age people.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Worse yet, the problem is only going to get worse. Europe\u2019s total fertility rate has declined from 2.7 births per woman in 1950 to just 1.41 in 2025, meaning the ratio of working-age people to retirees will only decrease in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This means that a growing proportion of workers\u2019 salaries goes towards supporting retirees to keep the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/french-protests-take-paris-over-macrons-retirement-age-change\/\" title=\"French ... take Paris over Macron&#039;s ... change\">current pension system<\/a> going. Governments must choose between two highly unpopular measures to maintain the pension system: raising taxes on working-age people or reforming the pension system with measures such as raising the retirement age. Deciding to do neither is equally damaging and unpopular.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Older citizens are also often more politically active than their younger counterparts. In the U.K.\u2019s 2024 general election, a majority of voters in a majority of constituencies were over 55 years of age for the first time. In France\u2019s 2022 elections, 76% of voters in their 50s turned out to vote, compared to just 60% of voters aged 18-24.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Macron has been one of the few European leaders to try and openly tackle the pension issue through reforms to the system, campaigning on a promise to implement reforms in 2017. His first attempt sought to combine France\u2019s dozens of pension systems into a single points-based system, eliminating the special privileges of groups like railway workers. The result was a nationwide strike of transportation workers and ballooning protests, a saga only halted when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Macron shelved the measure to deal with the pandemic, but it never came back in that form.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the pandemic settled down, Macron tried another effort beginning in 2023, this time raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 by 2030, and increasing the contribution years from 42 to 43 years for a full pension. Even greater outrage arose than from the first attempt, with French police struggling to contain protests that rose to well over one million participants at their peak. Macron\u2019s government just barely survived two no-confidence votes and, from 2024 to 2025, went through four prime ministers in barely a year, largely due to the pension issue. The current Prime Minister S\u00e9bastien Lecornu finally pledged to freeze the reform until after the 2027 elections, finally defeating one of the most comprehensive pension reform efforts in a major European economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Macron hasn\u2019t been the only European leader stung by pension politics either. De Wever\u2019s government in Belgium, grappling with a budget deficit that had ballooned to a size that violated E.U. rules, targeted the pension system with its austerity measures, including raising the retirement age from 66 to 67. As in France, trade unions exploded with rage, and sustained protests and strikes have taken place periodically for months. In one large October <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/tens-of-thousands-march-in-brussels-against-austerity-plans\/\">protest<\/a> in Brussels, demonstrators carried signs showing De Wever\u2019s picture, reading, \u201cwanted for pension theft.\u201d The pension reform is a central reason for his government\u2019s collapse in popularity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Starmer, who became the punching bag of the anglophone world before resigning under intense pressure, can also credit much of his fall to the pension issue. Weeks after taking office in 2024, his Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that the U.K.\u2019s Winter Fuel Payment, a subsidy paid to pensioners since 1997, was being narrowed from all 11.6 million pensioners to around 1.5 million who met special criteria. It was acknowledged as a \u201ctough choice\u201d that Reeves \u201cdidn\u2019t want to make, or expected to make,\u201d but the rising deficit made it a needed fix.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4639511\/marine-le-pen-will-run-president-2027\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4639511\">MARINE LE PEN SAYS SHE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2027 AFTER COURT RULES HER ELIGIBLE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The urgency of the situation didn\u2019t satiate the rage of pensioners and the public, who savaged Starmer\u2019s government in the press. Critics didn\u2019t shy away from directly accusing Starmer\u2019s government of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gbnews.com\/politics\/keir-starmer-winter-fuel-payments-labour-research\">essentially killing pensioners<\/a>. Just weeks after winning the elections in a landslide, the new Labour government had the popular enthusiasm sucked out of it. Despite rolling the reform back in the Spring, the damage had already been done, and Starmer\u2019s popularity never recovered. The <em>Telegraph<\/em> credited the saga as sealing Starmer\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf headlines of freezing grannies dominate the first year of your premiership, it may not be destined for greatness,\u201d <em>Telegraph<\/em> senior money writer Maya Wilson Autzen <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/politics\/articles\/starmer-war-pensioners-sealed-fate-073000859.html?guccounter=1&#038;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&#038;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALji9fLU00KsjjbQz-GBIdPsQFkqwUZSwO-_f0O2KTf7H1eY0ActcN04b6t4baao2i75NHU36asfnLU6Mgz94E5tpH_IuI7OWyqxpKJ6515ZbTDgXOCXcsDSJL7ffAcFDBHVn-zO2gW42dU5No8bfiRtaIFAZjFMzZsY2kO8vIm9\">quipped<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Western Europe&#8217;s top leaders are among the most unpopular in modern history<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2628564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26175635707709.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[51769,8447,50402,32372,17824],"class_list":["post-2628563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-demographics-2","tag-europe","tag-leadership-2","tag-political-trends","tag-popularity"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AP26175635707709.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2628563"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2628567,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628563\/revisions\/2628567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2628564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2628563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2628563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2628563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}