New representative poll: Only 16% of Germans think the US is a trustworthy partner, 71% are in favor of an EU army
Thursday, 13 Mar 2025
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It’s nice to see such overwhelming support for France and UK.
🇫🇷 🤝 🇩🇪 against fascists.
I’m with the 71%
The decision made today about ramping up defense spending in the EU is irreversible. Let’s call it an independence day. Free 🇪🇺
After all this battles and wars between France & Germany/German Lands, this is such a positive and amazing result.
This is only 6% more than Russia. Crazy.
I grew up near an US Army Base. Americans were so high regarded, everyone wanted to be part of American culture. It’s mesmerizing how quickly this has all flipped.
More interesting that 16% still think the US is trustworthy.
I always read it like “Gross Britain” and I think it’s extremely funny
Je t’aime aussi ma chère Allemagne
Surpriding that only 44% supports ukraine, thought it would have been higher cause they are near poland
I’m really happy about the score for France/Britain. We are brother guys. We had conflicts in the past but come on, now we are stronger together and clearly on the right side of history.
Source: https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/deutschlandtrend/deutschlandtrend-3468.html
In case the German names in the graph aren’t self explanatory, from top to bottom:
85% trust France, 78% trust Great Britain, 44% trust Ukraine, 16% trust the USA and 10% trust Russia.
Some other results:
> ‘Whatever it takes’ – with these words, CDU leader Friedrich Merz presented the plan for billions in investments in defence and the Bundeswehr on Tuesday. The CDU, CSU and SPD agreed on this plan before they had even agreed on a joint government.
> ‘In view of the threats to our freedom and peace on our continent’, said Merz, the motto “whatever is necessary” should apply to defence in future. To this end, the CDU, CSU and SPD want to implement exceptions to the debt brake enshrined in the German constitution. In addition, a special fund totalling 500 billion euros is to be created for investment in infrastructure in order to boost the economy. A two-thirds majority in the Bundestag is required for both.
> The proposals would achieve such a two-thirds majority among the citizens. According to the representative ARD DeutschlandTrend, for which infratest dimap has been surveying 1,325 eligible voters in Germany since late Tuesday afternoon, **66% think an increase in spending on defence and the Bundeswehr is right. One in five (20 per cent) would spend roughly the same amount as before in this area. 11 percent are in favour of reducing spending on defence and the Bundeswehr.**
> A growing openness to incurring debt may also have to do with the rapid development of the global political situation. Three quarters of Germans believe that NATO partners cannot currently rely on the protection of the USA and are concerned that security in Europe is under threat. Two thirds are concerned that we are defencelessly at the mercy of Trump and Putin. And only one in six still consider the USA to be a trustworthy partner – this is a new low in the ARD DeutschlandTrend, which is even lower than the figures from Trump’s first term in office.
> There is a growing awareness among citizens that Germany and Europe must take their own security more into their own hands. **A slight majority (54 per cent) believe that we should become less dependent on NATO and establish a European military alliance.**
> Support for the formation of an army of EU member states, which has been discussed time and again, has grown in recent years. Just under two years ago, a good one in two (53 per cent) were in favour in June 2023. A year ago, in April 2024, it was already 59 per cent. Now it is seven out of ten Germans (71 per cent).
> It is not only under Donald Trump that the USA has made it clear that it expects more responsibility from Europe on security issues. However, he has increased the pressure for this with various measures since taking office in January. US military aid to Ukraine has been paused since the beginning of the week. At a special summit, the EU is also discussing the extent to which Europe can fill this gap. However, only just over one in four Germans (28 per cent) believe that European countries are in a position to replace the lack of US aid to Ukraine. A majority of 60 per cent do not trust Europe to do so.
> Trump has also formulated clear expectations of Europe in the event that a ceasefire agreement is reached between Russia and Ukraine. **When it comes to the question of whether Germany should contribute Bundeswehr soldiers to peacekeeping in Ukraine in this case, citizens are divided: 43 per cent are fundamentally in favour, 46 per cent fundamentally against.**
> Here, too, it is interesting to look at the different party supporters: four out of five AfD and BSW supporters (79 per cent each) reject participation in a Ukraine peacekeeping mission with German soldiers. Left-wing supporters are slightly more opposed (47 per cent against, 42 per cent in favour), while CDU/CSU supporters are slightly more in favour (50 per cent in favour, 39 per cent against). There is majority support among supporters of the Greens (73 per cent) and the SPD (60 per cent).
All the support for our French vision is almost worrying, for – truth be told –, we idiots are only two years away from a possible RN presidency that would ditch our European dimension.
That is why when it comes to the future nuclear umbrella for Europe, we need to have a second power that is entirely independent from the US to serve as a backup. Whether we help the British restore a full control on their deterrence or we need another entirely new nuclear power. It could be Germany, it could be Poland or a Nordic one. But then it means they have to develop their own stuff and start now.
Whatever, we need a Franco-X solution, not a purely French one. This is how I see it from Paris. France 100% independent, and X 100% independent and both sharing best practices. Who should X be?
Can Canada join the EU please
Face it, 60y ago France and Germany were still killing each other (they were doing that for ages). Now they accept each other territories and they cooperate, and it benefits both of them.
Can’t the rest of the world not see that EU is a very successful peaceful project and start using the same principles ffs?
Wild that the difference between USA and Russia is so small. Not that I blame them, who would ever trust anything led by Trump.
What about the Niederlanden? Do you trust us 🇩🇪 🇳🇱
Usa 6 points above Russia by the principle western state, Republicans have absolutely fucked it.
i cannot beleive Germany is becoming a militant nation again AND thats being heralded (and I agree) as a GOOD thing. In another universe Hilary won and none of this insanity happened.
Can someone explain why its so 50/50 on ukraine though?
as a french its heart warming to see the the germans have a good opinion of us
I wonder how long it’ll be before they request the US remove their troops from European bases? This is an absolute nightmare. Trump and his stupid fucking followers are going to destroy us. I never in my wildest dreams thought there would be a schism between the western alliance. 🇺🇸👁️💧👄💧👁️🇺🇸
I’m in the US and even I don’t think the current US government is a trustworthy partner.
Why does Germany think Britain is gross? I’ll have you know i shower regularly.
Crazy how one bad government can drag the reputition of 350 million people down
I want to know what the hell is the 10% that’s between the “Russia OK” and the amount of votes for AfD thinking.
I always feel a bit like for germans “european army” is just another way to push away responsibility for our army and hopefully let other people manage it
Polls like this is usually pretty useless but a number like that is actually immense. Maybe with Merz, Macron, and Starmer some thing s will actually happen. I doubt a EU army, but at least some actual, tangible change
Thanks Krasnov, thanks Ketaminov! MEGA! But not in the way you thought!
Amazing it have taken Trump 2 months to break down the trust made by other USA president over 80 years.
why is Ukraine only 44%?
Interesting. But not really surprising.
I don’t think anyone in Western Europe trusts the US anymore.
It’s no surprise that France is so trustworthy here. After all, they keep the EU running with us (Germany).
The British have very similar values to us and are helping to defend our continent.
I’d question the motivation of the 16% as well.
The damage to trust is irreparable in my view, even with a new administration there must be no going back from this. A line was crossed, it’s done.
Russia and the US just help us focus over here in Europe on what we do have in common: Our shared love of liberty and democracy. This is something all real European nations have in common.
So let’s just be done with it and build our common nation of nations. And a strong defence force with it, so we can actually live in shared freedom and democracy.
Let’s forget France and Germany and form the Über Elsass together 😘