A survey conducted by the opinion research Institute Civey on behalf of the Atlantic bridge, a profound crisis of confidence between Germany and the United States. Four-fifths of the respondents values, therefore, the German-American relationship as negative, or very negative. The voters of the Greens, there are even 91.2 percent.
Nearly 60 percent are in favour of a greater distancing of Germany to the United States. Only 13 percent wish for a rapprochement between the two countries. At the same time 42.3% of respondents to China as a better Partner for Germany than the United States. Only 23.1 percent represented the opposite opinion. The voters of the Left have with 56.3 percent, the biggest trust in China, the AfD, with still 31.6 percent in the slightest.
Almost 45 percent of German foreign policy ineffective
However, just under 20 percent of all respondents of the German trust’s foreign policy, overall, a positive influence on world Affairs. 44.8 percent to hold German foreign policy in the global environment, even for no effect, and 34 percent find that the effect of the German foreign policy negatively. In these Figures, expressing skepticism about the German influence and global Engagement is emphasized by the views of respondents to the voters of a military commitment in Germany and abroad. 89.9 percent of respondents are against a military involvement of the Bundeswehr, only 14.4 per cent are in favour.
Almost in contradiction to this abstinence from any international Engagement, a majority of 55.6 per cent seems to be in favour of unchanged, or even intensified sanctions against Russia. Here is the picture between East and West Germany differs however strongly. In the former GDR 52.5 percent for an easing of sanctions, in the West, only 36.3 percent.
From the perplexity of the population
The Chairman of the foreign Affairs of the Bundestag Committee, Norbert Röttgen, CDU, which is also a member of the Executive Board of Atlantic bridge, in an analysis of the survey, a paradox of behavior: on the one Hand, distanced the Germans from the USA to give within the framework of the Nato security guarantee of the Federal Republic of Germany, on the other hand, the Germans refused, however, to assume more international responsibility. You need to talk, on the Basis of this contradiction, one could not make policy, said the CDU politician.
The survey results showed, rather, the whole helplessness of the population. This is also the consequence of the lack of a basic strategic foreign policy debate. However, one should be in Germany, then also understand that the employment with the foreign policy responsibility of their own country will lead to unpleasant political discussion. The debate now, but urgently. To do this, be called before all the parties. Röttgen doubts that the European Union was the 27 in the next few years, to a common, consistent foreign policy in the location. This debate would then have to go forward four or five Nations.
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Juliane Schäuble
The Atlantic bridge is a 1952 based non-partisan Association whose objective is the deepening of the cooperation between Germany, Europe and the USA. The opinion research Institute Civey has interviewed on behalf of the Atlantik-Brücke in November and December of 2018, a total of 80,000 voters, to take account of where each of the 16 questions, each of 5,000 Votes. The results are according to Civey a statistical error rate of 2.5 per cent representative.
