Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
The majority of Germans don’t trust the U.S. when it comes to geopolitical affairs, according to a new survey that highlights anti-Americanism that’s both deep-rooted and growing in the nation.
The survey, issued by German public broadcaster ZDF to 1,200 randomly selected citizens, showed that 82 percent of Germans don’t see the U.
S. as a “reliable partner for Germany when it comes to political cooperation,” while only 14 percent do.Russia and China are seen more favorably: 58 percent of Germans see Russia as a reliable political ally, while 43 percent say the same for China.
The report comes in the wake of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s critical comments on the U.S. pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, in which she said Europe needs “needs to take its fate into its own hands,” and that “it’s no longer the case that the United States will simply just protect us.”
In an interview published in this week’s issue of Germany’s Der Spiegel, former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said Merkel’s comments were understated.
“It’s even worse than that,” Fischer said. “The American president is deliberately destroying the American world order. I was used to NATO being attacked by the left wing of the Green Party, but not by the American president! From an economic policy point of view, Trump is challenging Germany’s business model, which has been geared toward exports from the very beginning. Many are saying that we shouldn’t put up with that. I find this reaction understandable, but also kind of cute. What can we do? Given the current balance of power, sometimes all you can do is gnash your teeth.”
That issue of Der Spiegel, by the way, features Trump giving the middle finger to the reader with the English caption “Goodbye, Europe!”
An editorial in the magazine reads:
“The West as we once knew it no longer exists. Our relationship to the United States cannot currently be called a friendship and can hardly be referred to as a partnership. President Trump has adopted…
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