Against the backdrop of the current crown crisis, many Germans have changed their minds about the United States for the worse. 73 percent of Germans say their opinion of transatlantic world power has deteriorated due to the crisis.
36 percent of respondents began to feel worse about China. However, a quarter of Germans (25 percent) even say they have become more positive about China despite the crown crisis. This was reported in a survey commissioned by the Kerber Foundation, which was conducted by the Kantar Public Public Opinion Institute in April 2020.
There are other interesting data: although 37 percent of Germans are still not against close relations with the United States, almost the same number, namely 36 percent, consider close relations with China to be more important. In September 2019, the answer to the same question was clearly in favor of the United States (50 percent to 24).
“The Germans’ skepticism towards the United States is growing, and this is an alarming trend that should make politicians think on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Nora Muller, head of the Kerber Foundation’s International Policy Department, regarding the survey.
Almost six out of ten respondents (59 percent) believed that globalization had mostly positive consequences for Germany. And almost 65 percent believe that reducing globalization due to the epidemic is not a good idea. Nevertheless, 85 percent of respondents still favor the transfer of production of critical infrastructure and other general goods back to Germany.