I've never heard of any country that could be more pessimistic than France, but thanks to the credit crisis, the UK has managed to do it. Germany is even more pessimistic, but who wouldn't be if they had Angela Merkel in a leadership position? The Guardian:
British economic confidence has been shattered by the financial crisis, according to a unique international poll published today. It shows that people here are now less likely to trust banks, the stockmarket or the government's economic management than people in comparable nations.
The research, carried out by WIN, an international network of pollsters including ICM in Britain, used professional polling techniques to assess public opinion in 17 countries, including the major G8 economies as well as China and India.
On most measures, British people emerged as among the most pessimistic of the 14,555 people questioned around the world.
Remarkably, confidence in the banking system appears lower in Britain - 4.2 out of 10 - than in bankrupt Iceland, which polled 4.6.
While around a third of citizens in developing economies such as India and China say the economic situation in their countries could improve in coming months, more than three-quarters of people in Britain expect it to worsen.
Pessimism here is slightly deeper than in competitors such as France, Spain and Germany, and equal to Japan.
British people are also less likely than average to think that their government can manage the situation, despite Gordon Brown's bank interventions and fiscal stimulus.
