Countries that will miss George Bush

by Dave Keating | January 13, 2009 at 02:43 am

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As outgoing US president George W. Bush held his last press conference yesterday, he was asked how he feels about the fact that most people think he has damaged the reputation of the US around the world. He seemed angered by the question, and replied that although perhaps that is the case in "elitist" countries in Europe, it is not the case in Africa.

While it is true that most of the world strongly dislikes the 43rd US president, there are notable pockets of exceptions, most specifically in Africa. On that continent Bush enjoys a near 80 percent approval rating, which has baffled his critics for some time.

As he leaves office with a record high domestic disapproval rate - 73%, according to an October ABC News/Washington Post poll - President George W Bush can perhaps take some comfort from the fact that this feeling is not uniformly shared abroad.

While the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq may come to symbolise the world's opinion of a president who is often referred to as the worst in America's history, some corners of the world will miss the 43rd president of the United States.

He has approval ratings of around 80% in Africa, according to some polls, and in Kosovo a main street was named after him to thank him for supporting Kosovo's independence.