http://www.angus-reid.com/polls Our Trend Analysis section reviews shifts in worldwide public opinion, examines the effect of policy decisions on the electorate, and focuses on the upcoming challenges for leaders and parties. en-CA Copyright 2003 - 2007 Angus Reid Consultants. All Rights Reserved. 60 Gabriela Perdomo - Turkey’s promising democracy is facing a major challenge as a battle to defend the country’s secular mandate is turning into an almost-religious crusade. The Asian country standing at the door of the European Union (EU) faces a tough question: is radical secularism the only way to prevent Turkey from becoming an Islamist state? http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/erdogan_turkeys_misunderstood_prime_minister/ Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:01:00 -0400 Gabriela Perdomo - It is hard to find out. Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration has delivered on some of his campaign promises, but nobody seems to know that. For most of his first year at the Élysée, all eyes were too set in the president’s personal soap opera to care about policy decisions. His family life has stabilized now so there is no more media craze left. Now Sarkozy must face the fact that this operetta has harmed both his persona and his mandate to make decisions as France’s head of state. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/the_problem_with_sarkozy/ Fri, 30 May 2008 04:01:00 -0400 Gabriela Perdomo – Call it the Iraq war effect. With no doubt left that the coalition effort to topple Saddam Hussein has turned to be the biggest military mess of our time, people in various Western nations with troops in Afghanistan are now turning their eyes to the war on terror and wondering, is Afghanistan the next Iraq? http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/the_afghanistan_question/ Thu, 01 May 2008 04:01:00 -0400 Gabriela Perdomo - Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, called it an opportunity to "re-found" the nation. With the final draft now ready, Bolivia’s constitution looks more likely to split the nation in two. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/bolivia_at_the_brink_of_separation/ Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:01:01 -0400 Mario Canseco - Robert Mugabe will seek a new term in office this Saturday, in the "harmonized" election that will see voters choose a president, select a new House of Assembly, renew a Senate that has been in place for just 26 months, and pick the members of their local councils. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/the_twisted_harmony_of_zimbabwe/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:01:00 -0400 Gabriela Perdomo - It is hardly a fringe movement. The voices calling for a boycott of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing are growing in number by the minute. It would be naïve to think they will succeed, but one can guess that their accusations will continue to resonate well after the spectacular games are over. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/the_anti_china_2008_games/ Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:01:01 -0400 Gabriela Perdomo - Forty-nine years after leading a triumphant revolution, Fidel Castro has told Cuban legislators he will not stand for president again. The speculation from now on will be endless. Some will say the United States is ready to ship Miami Cubans into their motherland in a matter of days. Others will say Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez has been handed the baton of Cuba’s future. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/castro_retires_what_will_happen_to_his_legend/ Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:01:00 -0500 Mario Canseco - Six months ago, it seemed reasonable that this would be the day to start writing political obituaries, assess the head-to-head contests of the two winners of the presidential primary season, and review which campaign still had the war chest to tackle a national race. After the final numbers of Super Tuesday became available, both contests are nowhere near done. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/after_super_tuesdays_super_tie/ Thu, 07 Feb 2008 04:01:00 -0500 Gabriela Perdomo - Over 600 hundred people have died and close to 2,500 have been displaced in Kenya’s current turmoil, triggered by a tight and questionable presidential election that saw the incumbent winning a second term in office in late December. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/kenya_at_a_crossroads/ Sun, 20 Jan 2008 04:01:00 -0500 Mario Canseco - Last Tuesday afternoon, a victory by Illinois senator Barack Obama in the New Hampshire Democratic primary was widely expected. An average of surveys predicted it, and the best example of the over-confidence that the collection of numbers brought to Obama’s campaign arrived after his semi-concession speech, when Stevie Wonder’s "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours" blasted through the sound system at his rally. "Superstition" would have probably been a better choice. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/new_hampshires_special_effects/ Sat, 12 Jan 2008 04:01:01 -0500 Mario Canseco - Just a few days are left before voters in Iowa attend their caucuses. This simple process will get the world closer to knowing which two persons will represent the United States’ two dominant political parties in the 2008 presidential election. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/difficult_choices_for_iowa_caucus_goers/ Sat, 29 Dec 2007 04:01:00 -0500 Gabriela Perdomo - There is relief in seeing an 11-year-old government leave office, and anxiety to find out what a new era will bring. On Nov. 24, Australian voters elected the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) to lead Parliament, effectively ending the premiership of John Howard and his conservative Coalition of Liberals and Nationals. It is not a historical shift and, both politically and economically, things will likely not change much in Australia. But the electoral outcome is good news for the country as it shows a healthy degree of political maturity from voters. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/labors_ascent_to_government_in_australia/ Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:01:00 -0500 Gabriela Perdomo – It’s been seven years since the last Palestinian intifada brought back the prospect of peace in the Middle East back to ground zero. Just months before, a meeting sponsored by then United States president Bill Clinton had failed to broker a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians. With a summit on the conflict coming up this month in Annapolis, Maryland, there are fears a new failure could trigger another dark chapter of violence in the troubled region. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/annapolis_the_leader_less_summit/ Fri, 16 Nov 2007 04:01:00 -0500 Mario Canseco - Yesterday, less than 48 hours after issuing an unexpected state of emergency, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf dismissed rumours about his alleged house arrest by saying he was due to play tennis later in the day. It is hard to assess what went through the mind of the political leader when he tossed the ball up before striking his first serve of the match. It is evident that most of the country did not enjoy as carefree an afternoon. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/pervez_musharrafs_double_fault/ Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:01:00 -0500 Gabriela Perdomo - This decade will probably be remembered in the Philippines for one thing: widespread corruption. And a man who could well be described as its symbol was just bestowed state clemency on his charges for plunder. With the pardon granted to former president Joseph Estrada, a long story with great political implications for the Philippines ends—but not with it, alas, an era of institutionalized corruption. http://www.angus-reid.com/analysis/view/the_philippines_after_joseph_estrada/ Thu, 25 Oct 2007 03:01:01 -0400