Politicians that are apparently less popular than Rob Ford

TORONTO – With police wiretaps, documents, investigations, allegations of drug and alcohol use and the still elusive video haunting Mayor Rob Ford, his political life is, needless to say, tumultuous.

But a recent Ipsos-Reid poll pegged his approval rating at 39 per cent across Toronto and he is still popular in Scarborough with an approval rating between 55 and 59 per cent. The poll was conducted on November 6, the day after he admitted to smoking crack cocaine while in a “drunken stupor.”

But, it seems, it could be worse.

Ford is apparently more popular than Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who according to an October poll conducted by Ekos Research and Ipolitics.ca, has an approval rating of just 24 per cent – an all-time low for the politician.

In-depth: Mayor Rob Ford

Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenney trailed Ford by 14 points with a 25 per cent approval rating.  Paul Hosford, a writer for Ireland’s TheJournal.Ie, points out that Toronto’s mayor “is more liked than any Irish leader.”

David Cameron, the Prime Minister of England, has a 37 per cent approval rating according to an Oct. 4 poll.

And despite the admitted crack use, Ford looks downright regal compared to the United States Congress, with approval ratings across several polls ranging from a low of 6 per cent to a stunningly-low 11.

There’s one politician who outperforms the mayor in approval ratings: United States President Barack Obama. Obama has a 41 per cent approval rating according to a November 11 Gallup poll. But that number has fallen steadily since September with the ongoing Healthcare.Gov controversy.