LONDON, England - April 19, 2010 - The English are the least patriotic people in Europe, a St. George's Day poll found today.
Their fear of being smeared as racist is greater than their enthusiasm for expressing their love of their country, it found.
Only one in ten would happily fly the cross of St. George to celebrate their national saint's day.
Double that number said they thought they would be instructed by authorities to remove the St. George cross if they flew it from their house.
Almost half said that England had lost its identity in the face of European interference and political correctness.
The findings were published in advance of St. George's Day, which, as two thirds of those polled did not know, falls this year on Friday, April 23.
They showed that on average, English people rate their patriotism at slightly below six on a scale out of ten, far behind the Scots, Welsh and Irish, and trailing in the wake of the Dutch, the most patriotic people on the continent.
The magazine This England polled nearly 6,000 people across nine European countries to assess their state of patriotism.
Its editor, Stephen Garnett, said, “We are incredibly disappointed that English people are afraid of displaying the St. George's Cross on our patron saint's day. We want to reclaim the flag from extremists by asking as many people as possible, from whatever background, to fly it.”
