Pandemic saps trust in many world leaders, but not Angela Merkel

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's response to the coronavirus pandemic has won widespread approval even as other high-profile leaders face growing frustrations, according to polling from Kekst CNC, shared with Axios.

The big picture: Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's truly terrible ratings have been driven largely by economic concerns, while rising case counts have seen President Trump slump to new lows in the poll. Merkel, meanwhile, is winning high marks on both the public health and economic fronts.

• French President Emmanuel Macron fares far worse, but his numbers have ticked up from -17% last month.
• Everyone else is heading in the wrong direction, including U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, for whom an initial boost in popularity has long since evaporated.
• 64% of Brits think the government lifted lockdown too early, and 67% think the government is just making things up as it goes along.
• The U.K's beloved National Health Service scores a whopping +85% approval for its pandemic response, however.
• In Sweden, confidence in the government's unorthodox approach is fading slightly though still relatively strong (+8%).

Worth noting: Just 14% of Swedes say they’re wearing masks indoors in public spaces, compared to 47% in the U.K. and big majorities in France (74%), the U.S. (75%), Germany (79%) and Japan (84%).