The US cannot be depended upon!
A survey commissioned by the Berlin-based European Council on Foreign Relations think tank and conducted by Datapraxis and YouGov revealed that the coronavirus crisis has caused a dramatic deterioration in the European public perception of the US.
In almost every nation surveyed – conducted at the end of April and the first week of May, 2020 across nine EU countries which together account for two-thirds of the bloc’s population – a majority of people said their perception of the US had deteriorated since the outbreak.
Negative attitudes of the US were most marked in Denmark (71%) Portugal (70%), France (68%), Germany (65%) and Spain (64%). In France, 46% and in Germany 42% said their view of the US had worsened “a lot” during the pandemic.
In an analysis of the data, the policy experts Susi Dennison and Pawel Zerka say that trust in the US is “broken” as a result of its handling of the health crisis and that support for the transatlantic alliance has been “hollowed out”.
Angela Merkel (right), the German chancellor, warned in an interview with the Guardian on Friday that the world could no longer take it for granted that America still aspires to be a global leader. The survey suggests that public opinion is already conscious of the shift.
So low is confidence in the future of the transatlantic partnership that only 2% of respondents in Germany and 3% in France said they would expect US support as Europe rebuilds its damaged economy.
The two authors believe there is now a more profound uncertainty about America as a force for good, America’s commitment to multilateralism and the US’s ability to lead the world.
It’s about time Europe forges its own future, free from the US!
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has penned an open letter to the people of Liverpool, exclusively in the Liverpool Echo.
Watch what Klopp has to say in this special video:
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has penned an open letter to the people of Liverpool, exclusively in the Liverpool Echo.
Watch what Klopp has to say in this special video: