DW-World.de
Deutsche Welle

Among those living in the states that used to make up East Germany 47 percent of people called US President George W. Bush "the greatest danger to world peace," in a survey commissioned by the magazine Super Illu and released on Sunday.

Al Qaeda head Osama bin Laden had to settle for second place in the greatest threat to the world survey, coming in with 20 percent of the vote.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was chosen by 12 percent of the eastern German residents surveyed, while 11 percent named Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the world's most dangerous politician.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Bush was called a greater threat than Osama bin Laden by twice as many people

Two percent of survey participants consider Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah the most dangerous threat, while 8 percent of people didn't give a response who they would least likely to cause Armageddon.  

The Institute for Market Research in Leipzig questioned 1,001 men and women in the former East German states that were joined with West Germany in 1990. The poll did not examine the opinions of people living in Germany's western states.

Bush loses support elsewhere

Similar polls commissioned by the daily newspaper The Guardian in Great Britain and other newspapers including Israel's Haaretz; Canada's La Presse and Toronto Star; and Mexico's Reforma, also found that fewer people in their countries support Bush's foreign policy.

Over two-thirds (69 percent) of the British participants said the world has become less safe since 2001 because of US policy. About 62 percent of Canadians and 57 percent of Mexicans agreed.

In Israel, a traditional US ally, support for Bush and his administration has also declined, but remains stronger than in the other countries where the survey was conducted. In Israel, 23 percent of participants considered Bush a serious danger.