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What does it mean to be patriotic? It depends on a country’s politics.

Pride in one’s country is itself relatively common, according to new results from an international edition of The POLITICO Poll: Majorities of adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Canada, France and Germany all say they are proud of their country.

But that pride looks different in each country. Expressions of patriotism are shaped by a nation’s history and politics. And in a complex political moment when voters’ relationship with each other, their political parties and their countries continues to shift — and nationalist populist movements continue to rise, claiming patriotism as their own — what it means to be patriotic is evolving.

In America, the flag has become a defining feature of national pride, a symbol increasingly claimed by Donald Trump’s MAGA movement. In Canada, people find pride in their political leaders as they seek to counter Washington’s influence. And in Germany, the country’s Nazi history continues to loom over current debates about nationalism.

The survey, conducted by the independent London-based firm Public First, underscores how cultural and political debates shape subtle differences in patriotism across six major democracies of the West.

Tensions over immigration and culture have roiled Europe and the U.S., with right-wing parties often making national identity central to their political message. The symbols and rituals of patriotism also distinguish countries from one another — from debates over what students are taught in schools and whether they should be required to sing the national anthem, to differences in displays of the flag.

Here’s what stands out for each country.

Pluralities of adults in other countries — and 49 percent of Americans — say the U.S. has the most patriotic citizens. That’s partly because of its overt displays of patriotism, with Americans historically placing national flags on their lawns and outside restaurants and businesses, and leaders frequently wearing flag paraphernalia.

That embrace of the flag stands out. The U.S. flag has long been a revered symbol in the country, and most Americans (51 percent) say they own the national flag. That’s significantly more than adults in the other countries — for instance, just 22 percent of U.K. adults say they own a Union Jack and just 27 percent in France say they own a flag.

Still, the American flag has become somewhat partisan.

Trump and his MAGA movement have made patriotism and nationalism central to Republican politics, and more than 70 percent of his 2024 voters say they own an American flag. Just 44 percent of those who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris say the same. Trump voters are also more likely (52 percent) than Harris voters (33 percent) to say that displaying a national flag outside your house is considered an act of patriotism.

Near-majorities of adults in the U.S., the U.K., France, Spain and Canada say their country should be proud of its history. Germany is the outlier, due to its Nazi past.

Just 24 percent of Germans say the country should be proud of its history. A majority — 53 percent — say the country should neither be proud nor ashamed. Still, only 14 percent say Germany should be ashamed, and a 61 percent majority say they feel the country has “done enough to apologize for the bad things it did in the past” — potentially helping explain why most Germans say they feel neutral of the country’s history.

Politicians from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have argued that the country should reclaim a sense of national pride, including by reshaping childhood education so it involves “less Hitler,” as one version of a manifesto published by a regional branch of the party put it. Forty-one percent of voters who plan to back AfD in future elections say Germany should be proud of its history — more than double the number of total adults who say the same.

While such ideas were once considered politically fringe in Germany, they have increasingly moved into the mainstream. The AfD is in first place in national polls, in front of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives, and it’s even further ahead in two eastern states in which regional elections are set for September.

Amid a growing anti-incumbency backlash across the West, Canada stands out.

When asked what makes them most ashamed of their country, just 22 percent of Canadians pointed to their leaders — significantly lower than the 40 percent of Americans, 45 percent of Brits, 52 percent of the French, 43 percent of Germans and 50 percent of Spaniards.

There’s a reason for their more positive outlook on the government. Aided by Trump’s trade war and what have become routine threats to turn Canada into the “51st state,” Mark Carney, a rookie politician, managed to revive Canada’s Liberal Party and win office in April 2025 with promises to stand up to Washington while transforming the oil-rich country into an energy superpower. Carney is even popular in Western Canada — traditionally Conservative territory — thanks to pipeline promises and his rollback of Justin Trudeau-era climate policy. A recent Leger poll showed he’s more popular than any other politician in Quebec.

While the majority of adults across the European countries surveyed expressed national pride, Spaniards are on a different level. A 52 percent majority pick Spain as the best place to live, while most adults in the U.K. and France pick other countries over their own.

That showed up when we asked about pride in nationality, too: A strong 76 percent majority of adults say they are proud to be Spanish, compared with the 68 percent who are proud to be British, 71 percent who are proud to be French and 60 percent who are proud to be German.

In Spain, national pride goes beyond its politics — which has been and is still somewhat tumultuous. Spaniards are reckoning with the echoes of Francisco Franco’s decades-long dictatorship, competing pro-independence movements in regions like Catalonia and the Basque Country, and an ongoing deep dissatisfaction with the way their country is being run.

And still, they exhibit a more optimistic sense of national pride than their European counterparts, partly because of the country’s status on the world stage, through its athletic success as well as its reputation as a tourism and culture hub.

France’s national anthem, the Marseillaise, is a revered national symbol that dates back to the French Revolution.

Most adults in France, 57 percent, say children should be made to sing the national anthem in school, a view that cuts across partisan lines but is most popular among the far-right National Rally (74 percent) and the centrist Ensemble party (67 percent). Meanwhile, just 42 percent of U.K. adults, 32 percent of German adults and 26 percent in Spain say the same.

More broadly, just like the kneeling protests in the NFL provoked outrage among American conservatives, jeering and booing as a form of protest during the French national anthem at sporting events usually stokes controversy — though in France, the furor is often from across the political spectrum.

Ten years after Brexit initiated, an effort to take back control of the U.K., The POLITICO Poll suggests British attitudes toward patriotism remain somewhat pessimistic — and broadly aligned with those elsewhere in Europe.

A 46 percent plurality of adults in the U.K. say “you can’t say you’re proud to be British anymore without being judged,” about on par with the share who say the same in other European countries. Though similar shares of U.K., French and Spanish adults say their countries should be proud of their histories, similar shares of them — and German adults — also say they’re ashamed of their leaders now.

The findings suggest that while Brexit reshaped Britain’s relationship with the European Union, whether it fundamentally changed the country’s sense of national identity is more complex. Other studies have revealed a multi-year decline in U.K. adults taking pride in the country’s achievements.

POLITICO’s Tim Ross, Sue Allan, Joshua Berlinger, James Agelos and Aitor Hernández-Morales contributed to this report. 

​Politics

Norway stands out among the historic European powers that dominate what remains of the World Cup. It has the skimpiest soccer heritage of the bunch — with a 28-year break since its last visit to the tournament — and the strongest political agenda: a continued fight to boot Israel from international soccer.

Norway’s trip to this World Cup ran through Israel, which has competed for one of Europe’s tournament slots since 1994, when boycotts from Arab and Muslim countries made it impossible for the Middle Eastern country to continue competing in the Asian Football Confederation.

When the two countries faced off in Oslo last October in a qualifying match, the Norwegian Football Federation announced that all proceeds would be donated to relief aid in Gaza. Palestinian flags, keffiyehs paired with viking hats and a massive “Let Children Live” banner swept the stands. Fans booed the playing of Israel’s national anthem.

But the Norwegian federation’s primary instrument is not advocacy from its team or fan base, but institutional pressure through federation standing and procedural respectability — an instinct reflecting the nation’s overall style and befitting its disproportionately large role at the United Nations.

Norway has been in the middle of Middle Eastern politics for a while. In 1978, the Camp David Accords set Israel on course to surrender the Sinai Peninsula and its oil fields, just before the Iranian Revolution upended regional energy politics. The United States pressed Norway to supply oil to Israel, which it did only after clearing the idea with Palestine Liberation Organization Chair Yasser Arafat, who saw the value of a Scandinavian back channel to Israeli leaders.

Norway’s tact turned itself into a distinctive intermediary: a small, energy-rich state with few Middle East ambitions of its own, clout in Washington, trust among Israelis and rapport with Palestinians. In the 1990s, the country hosted the negotiations that generated the Oslo Accords, the most significant diplomatic breakthrough toward a lasting peace. As talks failed and Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank deepened over the early 2000s, Norway pulled back from Israel.

Now Norway has brought that perspective to soccer’s governing bodies, arguing that Russia’s exclusion from the sport after its invasion of Ukraine presents a double standard that should be applied equally to Israel. The latest push for Israel’s suspension from FIFA began in 2024 by the Palestinian Football Association. It is backed by Arab and Asian football bodies, which cite atrocities in Gaza, discrimination against Arab athletes and Israel’s inclusion of football clubs that operate in illegal West Bank settlements.

Norwegian support advances the cause into the soccer’s mainstream, lending a weight and legitimacy absent among other European countries whose federations have taken a hard line against Israeli involvement. Türkiye’s position can be dismissed as predictably partisan on religious grounds, while Ireland — which has formally introduced a resolution to expel Israel and has considered boycotting matches against the country — is absent from this World Cup.

The driver of Norway’s political agenda is former national team star Lise Klaveness, a lawyer who serves on the executive committee of European confederation UEFA. She has been a voice for Nordic progressive politics within international soccer: In early 2022, Klaveness spoke to FIFA Congress about human rights, LGBTQ+ safety and transparency concerns in Qatar.

Players have been more circumspect than their leadership, but far from silent. Captain Martin Ødegaard said in early 2025 that the situation in Gaza — which that fall was subject to a peace deal negotiated in part by the United States — was “a background you can’t ignore” when playing Israel. The team’s leading goal-scorer, striker Erling Haaland, has engaged more obliquely with the subject but has not ignored it: A 2023 social media post mourned innocent children dying as attacks escalated on Gaza, and clips circulated of a 2025 video call Haaland held with a freed Israeli hostage.

​Politics

When the men’s World Cup winds down next week, FIFA isn’t packing it all up and heading back to Zurich.

Instead, the global soccer governing body will keep open the Miami office that it has used as an American political headquarters as it looks to expand its presence in the western hemisphere.

The strategy marks a significant shift in how FIFA has approached major tournaments. Rather than relying on a local organizing structure that dissolves after the final whistle, officials say the organization intends to retain the institutional knowledge assembled in South Florida and deploy it for the next wave of competitions.

“The whole idea was to bring 50 people from Zurich, who have the necessary experience and breadth, who’ve done other World Cups and they became the nucleus of Miami and they hired people,” a senior FIFA adviser, granted anonymity to describe internal strategy, said earlier this year. “That’s a model that we intend to use for future World Cups.”

FIFA first opened its Miami office in 2023, but the operation has since ballooned into 700-plus full-time staff. During the tournament, it has functioned as the organization’s nerve center and base for senior officials, including Chief Event Operations Officer for the FIFA World Cup Heimo Schirgi.

The Miami team will soon pivot toward FIFA’s next slate of marquee events. Brazil will host the women’s World Cup next year, and FIFA will help to manage the soccer portion of the LA28 Olympics, which will include qualifying matches across the United States. And while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will serve as the primary hosts of the 2030 men’s World Cup, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will each stage one opening match to commemorate the tournament’s centennial.

Just a year later, the United States is expected to host the 2031 women’s World Cup, giving FIFA another major event on American soil.

The organization hopes the staff, relationships and expertise developed during the largest World Cup in history can become a lasting asset as North America increasingly becomes one of the sport’s most important markets.

CORRECTION: This report has been updated to correct the title of Heimo Schirgi.​Politics