Danger for world peace: Germans see the USA as a threat
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
"German Angst" is common in the English language as a winged word. That the Germans are afraid and hesitant about different developments is nothing new. But who or what the Germans perceive as a risk, should surprise many Americans.
The US is, according to the Germans,
the biggest threat to peace. This was the result of a survey by the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy and the Center for Strategy and Higher Leadership in Cologne. The survey for the "Security Report 2019" also showed that the Germans are most concerned about their long-term care needs and impending poverty in old age.
Overall, however, the annual survey since 2011 showed that economic concerns are on the decline and fears of terror have diminished. Worries about the development of society and global tensions are therefore more pronounced than the concerns about the personal future, write the authors of the study.
"Citizens are currently judging their personal situation much more positively than the development of society as a whole and the world situation," said Renate Köcher from the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy. "This gap is becoming more conspicuous."
Particularly striking is the "sad career" that made the US in the eyes of the Germans, said Klaus Schweinsberg from the Center for Strategy and Higher Leadership.
For example, 56 percent of the 1249 Germans surveyed between January 5 and 17 were convinced that the US was the greatest threat, after 40 percent last year and 14 percent in 2014. "For the German citizens, there is one central uncertainty factor that affects them And that's called USA under the leadership of Donald Trump, "said Schweinsberg.
Respondents in North Korea (45 percent) see the second highest risk, followed by Turkey (42 percent) and Russia (41 percent). Also, a clear majority (62 percent) sees the behavior of certain heads of state as the greatest risk to world stability – even ahead of military conflicts (52 percent) and climate change (43 percent).
However, feelings of threat from the area of internal security are declining. In particular, Germans are less worried about terrorist attacks than in the past three years. 61 percent of respondents in Germany feel safe and only one in five feel insecure. However, German citizens are very concerned that the situation in Europe and the world is becoming increasingly unpredictable and that violence and crime are on the increase.
Sufficient pensions are an issue for the vast majority of the population. The current debate on the introduction of a basic pension for low-income earners is therefore pursued with goodwill, it is said. The German population "wants the society to stay together, it does not want a shift to fall off," said Quiver. This desire is drawn across all layers in Germany, unlike in the US.
People in the East feel more insecure
Personally, according to the study, people are most vulnerable to long-term care and dementia – 40 percent said they were very worried about it. Just over every third person faces the threat of old-age poverty and life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Accordingly, a clear majority wants the state to spend more money on these issues – specifically for health care (70 percent), family support (69 percent) and pensions (65 percent).
In education too, 76 percent want schools to be better equipped. A majority also sees more investment needs in police equipment, environmental protection, the maintenance and development of roads and railways, and public facilities such as swimming pools and libraries.
Around one in three said they felt insecure at home than five years ago. People in the East felt more insecure than people in the West. Nearly one in three is also afraid of terrorist attacks – but this fear has steadily declined since a rise in 2016 after some Islamist attacks in Europe.
https://www.archyworldys.com/danger-for-world-peace-germans-see-the-usa-as-a-threat/
