Majority of Irish ignorant of top European politicians

Irish people's enthusiasm for Europe is matched only by our lack of awareness of its leading politicians, a new poll shows. The Irish Times/MRBI poll reveals a high level of confidence in our politicians and EU institutions, and majority support for the introduction of the euro.

Mr Bertie Ahern emerges with a massive approval rating, with 85 per cent of those polled saying they have confidence in him. However, he is virtually unknown in continental Europe, according to the poll carried out in 11 European states.

Some 1,000 people were questioned by MRBI last month for the poll, which was carried out as part of a broader Eurobarometer survey. Corresponding polls were carried out in 10 other European states.

The poll shows that for all our enthusiasm about Europe, most of us have never even heard of its most powerful politicians. In addition, the EU is perceived as a relatively distant institution, with less than half of Irish people believing it exerts an influence on their personal lives.

Some 99 per cent of Irish people say they know Mr Ahern and Mr Tony Blair (only 94 per cent of Britons were aware of their own prime minister), but the percentages tumble for other figures.

Two-thirds of respondents knew who Mr Jacques Chirac and Dr Helmut Kohl were, but only one in 10 said they were aware of Mr Lionel Jospin or Mr Jose Maria Aznar, the French and Spanish prime ministers respectively. Mr Romano Prodi, Italy's prime minister until recently, scores a 3 per cent awareness among the Irish, and the premiers of Austria, Denmark and Greece are almost unknown (Mr Viktor Klima, Mr Poul Nyrup Rasmussen and Mr Kostas Simitis, if you didn't know).

The exception to the general rule is Mr Franz Fischler, the EU commissioner for agriculture and rural development. His name was familiar to one-third of Irish people.

Irish ignorance is returned in kind across continental Europe, where the name of Mr Ahern is spoken of with an awe clearly born out of absolute mystification. Just one out of every 100 Spaniards say they know our Taoiseach, and levels of awareness elsewhere are little better. Three per cent of Austrians have heard of him, 4 per cent of Danes, and 5 per cent of French, Dutch and Greeks.

The Italians are best informed, with a 7 per cent awareness. Even in the UK, two-thirds of people say they have never heard of the Taoiseach.

But there's comfort for Mr Ahern in that almost three-quarters of Irish people have confidence in their Government to improve their economic and social situation. This is much higher than in the other 10 countries surveyed.

Irish people hold Mr Blair in higher esteem than the Labour leader's own electorate - 84 per cent of us have a good opinion of him compared to 56 per cent in the UK.

A majority - 52 per cent - of Irish people welcome the introduction of the euro, but one-quarter say they are not satisfied with the replacement of the pound.