Global voter rage

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

BERLIN — Four years of successive crises — a pandemic, large-scale war in Europe for the first time in decades, and debilitating inflation — are fueling a global anti-incumbent backlash, Axios' Zachary Basu and Dave Lawler write. Why it matters: Voters almost everywhere are ready to throw their leaders out in the biggest election year in human history. Across Europe, parties in power are bracing for a drubbing in this week's elections for the EU's parliament — in many cases, at the hands of far-right populists. ? Zoom in: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been described as the most popular leader in the world. Even he was humbled by election results this week. He'll keep his job, but without an outright majority. Last week in South Africa, the long-ruling African National Congress suffered its worst performance since the end of Apartheid. Ruling parties from South Korea to Senegal have suffered recent defeats. Next month, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives are on course to be swept out in a landslide. President Biden is trailing former President Trump in most polls. ? By the numbers: Biden's approval rating is stuck in the high 30s. Even that is better than Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (35%), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (26%), French President Emmanuel Macron (23%) or Japanese PM Fumio Kishida (15%), according to Morning Consult's tracker. The most popular leader on the tracker, aside from Modi, is Argentina's Javier Milei (61%) — a self-described "anarcho-capitalist" who was swept to office in December on a burn-it-all-down platform. Mexico defied the trend last week by electing an ally of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Claudia Sheinbaum. Before that, incumbents in Latin America had lost 20 elections in a row. Keep reading.