WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Iraqis approved more of their own country's leadership than U.S. leadership in early 2010 -- the reverse of their sentiment in 2008. Iraqis' relative confidence in their own leadership at the time of Gallup's most recent survey, which was conducted shortly before the elections in March, could be taken as a positive sign as the U.S. diminishes its military presence in the country and Iraqis take more control.
Iraqis' increased approval of their own leadership did not come at the expense of U.S. leadership approval. Iraqis' confidence in their leadership rose 13 percentage points between 2008 and early 2010; approval of U.S. leadership fell 5 points.
Five months after the elections, political deadlock continues to stall the formation of a new government. This stalemate may have affected Iraqis' approval of their leadership since the February survey. If Iraq's leadership hopes to build confidence among its constituents, the creation of a stable government is necessary.
Julie Ray contributed to this article.
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Survey Methods
Results are based on face-to-face interviews with approximately 1,000 adults in Iraq, aged 15 and older, conducted March 5-June 14, 2008, and with approximately 1,000 adults in Iraq, aged 15 and older, conducted Feb. 17-27, 2010. For results based on the total sample of national adults, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum margin of sampling error is 卤3.7 percentage points in 2008 and 卤3.6 percentage points in 2010. The margin of error reflects the influence of data weighting. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
