Erdogan first, Trump second and Putin third! These are the most liked leaders in Macedonia
Express newspaper
30/09/2025 16:56
In North Macedonia, Erdogan led with 75 percent, Trump second with 66 percent, and Russian President Vladimir Putin third with 52 percent.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as the most popular leader in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in a survey conducted in the Balkan countries, while he is ranked second in Montenegro and fourth in Serbia among leaders towards whom the public has the most positive views, Anadolu reports. The research, titled “Western Balkans Regional Survey”, was conducted by the International Republican Institute in Kosovo, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.
In this face-to-face survey with citizens, questions were asked such as: “Do you think your country is heading in the right or wrong direction?”; “What is the biggest problem facing your country today?”; “What is the biggest problem facing Europe today?”; “What kind of people do we need to lead us in the future?”; “Which country do you see as the most important ally for your country?”; and “What is your opinion of the following world and regional leaders – very negative, somewhat negative, somewhat positive or very positive?”.
Participants emphasized that the main problems facing their countries and that governments must deal with are “expensive living, high prices, corruption and unemployment.”
In the question “What is your opinion of the following world and regional leaders?”, President Erdogan is ranked as the leader with the most positive opinions in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Kosovo, President Erdogan is ranked first with 77 percent, US President Donald Trump is second with 74 percent and Chinese President Xi Jinping is next with 16 percent.
In North Macedonia, Erdogan led with 75 percent, Trump second with 66 percent, and Russian President Vladimir Putin third with 52 percent.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, 62 percent of respondents said they had a positive opinion of President Erdogan, while Xi came in second with 50 percent and Putin third with 42 percent. In Montenegro, Xi came in first with 57 percent, while Erdogan and Putin tied for second place with 54 percent each, followed by Trump with 52 percent. In Serbia, Putin came in first with 79 percent, Xi second with 70 percent, Trump third with 44 percent, while Erdogan received 38 percent positive views.
1164 people from Kosovo, 1.221 from North Macedonia, 1.219 from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1.020 from Montenegro and 1.216 from Serbia participated in the research.