Government Approval

Government approval measures how much of the population supports the current government. It is tracked per country as a percentage (0–100) and updates each turn. Low approval has real political consequences — including triggering snap elections in parliamentary systems.

How Approval Is Derived

Approval is sourced differently depending on the country's system:

The government approval rating mirrors the head of government's favorability. If the President's favorability is 52%, government approval is 52%.

What the Document Tracks

Each country has one approval document with:

• approvalRating: 0–100, percentage of population approving
• disapprovalRating: 0–100, percentage disapproving
• netApproval: approvalRating − disapprovalRating (can be negative)
• history: Last 20 turns of approval/net values for charting

Approval and disapproval do not necessarily sum to 100 — the remainder represents undecided or neutral voters.

What Moves Favorability (and Therefore Approval)

Since approval tracks the head of government's favorability, anything that affects character favorability affects approval.

Economic Conditions

Strong economic performance broadly lifts favorability:

• Low unemployment, high GDP growth, and controlled inflation all push favorability up
• High inflation and recession conditions push it down
• The effects are indirect — they work through voter sentiment and archetype approvals

Passed Legislation

Bills that pass popular legislation can boost the President or PM's standing with the archetypes that care about those issues. Bills that pass unpopular legislation or alienate key groups drag favorability down.

Character Actions

Campaign ads, canvassing, endorsements, and spending on political influence all affect character favorability. The head of government can actively manage their approval with the same tools any player uses.

Archetype Approval Decay

Approval bonuses from actions and events decay at 0.5% per turn (roughly 22% per game year). Without sustained effort, any approval boost gradually fades. A President who campaigns heavily during the first half of their term but goes quiet in the second half will see favorability drift down.

Snap Elections (UK)

In the United Kingdom, sustained low government approval can trigger a snap election. The specific threshold and mechanic is detailed in the snap elections system. The key point: letting UK government approval collapse is a political risk that can end a PM's tenure before their term expires.

For US and other fixed-term systems, low approval does not directly end a term — but it affects re-election prospects and can empower opposition members to pursue impeachment or no-confidence motions through their available actions.

Reading the Approval Tracker

From any country's main page or government page, the approval chart shows:

• Current approval and disapproval percentages
• Net approval trend over the last 20 turns
• Comparison to previous governments (historical line)

A net approval above +10 is generally considered safe political territory. Net approval below 0 (more disapproval than approval) is a warning sign. For UK PMs, sustained negative net approval is the main snap election trigger.

Relationship to Elections

Government approval is not directly plugged into vote calculations — those use the candidate's own favorability and demographic alignment. However, approval is a useful leading indicator:

• The head of government's favorability affects their own re-election prospects
• Low approval motivates opposition players to run stronger campaigns and pass no-confidence votes
• High approval gives the governing party a morale and recruitment advantage

Strategic Management

As President or PM:

• Pass signature legislation early to build approval while you have legislative momentum
• Use campaign ads and canvassing to maintain favorability between major bills
• Monitor economic metrics — if inflation rises or unemployment spikes, approval will follow downward
• Appoint a capable Central Bank Chair who keeps inflation near 2% and GDP growth positive

As opposition:

• Vote against popular government bills to highlight policy failures (though this cuts both ways)
• Focus campaign ads on incumbent favorability when the economy is weak
• In the UK: monitor approval thresholds for snap election opportunities

See also: National Metrics, Demographics, Central Banks