Most Europeans believe that America’s political system is broken, that China will become the world’s leading power within a decade, and that Joe Biden will not be able to halt the decline of his country on high global platform, according to a report.
While many welcomed Biden’s victory in the US election in November, more Europeans than feel that the U.S. cannot be trusted after four years of Donald Trump, according to a study by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“Europeans are like Biden, but they don’t think America will come back as a global leader,” thinktank leader Mark Leonard said. “When George W Bush was president, they were divided over how America should use its power. With Biden joining the White House, they are divided over whether America has any power. “
The survey of 15,000 people in 11 European countries, conducted at the end of last year, found that the shift in European sentiment towards the U.S. after Trump’s presidency had led to mutual discontent. linked to support Washington in potential international disputes.
At least half of the respondents in the 11 countries surveyed felt, for example, that their government should be neutral in any conflict between the US and China, although no more than 40 said % in any country to repel Washington against Russia.
“It is clear that Trump’s false leadership has left a bad impression on Europe’s view of the US,” said Ivan Krastev, chairman of the center for Liberal Strategies, NGO in Sofia, and an ECFR board member. “Most Europeans are now skeptical about the US’s ability to shape the world. It is forcing many, rightly or wrongly, to seek a more independent role in the future. the EU in the world. “
In their report, Leonard and Krastev note that while more than 60% of those polled believed the US was “broken”, most better evaluated it. the EU and the systems of their own countries – an opportunity, they argue, to use the common power of the bloc for the benefit and protection of its citizens.
The survey found that 51% of those polled disagreed with the statement that under Biden the US it seemed likely to resolve their internal divisions and try to address international issues such as climate change, peace in the East Central, relations with China or European security.
Among widespread awareness of growing dominance in China, 79% of those polled in Spain, 72% in Portugal, 72% in Italy and 63% in France said they thought that China would overtake the US as the world’s leading power within the next decade.
Just over 32% of respondents – and 53% of respondents in Germany – felt that Americans could not be trusted after voting for Trump. Only in Hungary and Poland did more people agree with this idea than did.
Only 10% of those polled saw the US as a “trusted” security partner who would always defend Europe, and at least 60% in all countries reported police that they doubted their country could rely on U.S. support in the event of an emergency.
The authors state that the geopolitical consequences of this move are important: two-thirds of those surveyed said it was now important for Europe to look after its own defense, taking its own initiative. 72% in Portugal, 71% in Sweden, 70% in France and 69% in Poland.
At least half of the respondents in each of the countries surveyed said they would prefer their government to be neutral in a conflict between the US and China. Across the 11 states surveyed, only 23% of respondents thought their country should side with Washington against Russia, with 59% preferring to remain neutral.
Between 38% and 48% of respondents in seven countries thought that the EU should take a tougher international stance on issues such as trade, taxation and regulation, while most countries were of the opinion that Germany was now a more important country for “good relations” than the USA.
The census also appeared in nine of the 11 countries – Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – where the same Asked in previous years, the average proportion of EU politicians saying the system worked well or well had gone up from 46% to 48%.
He found that people who thought that their own national political system was working, as was more often the case in the north than in the south of Europe, were more likely to say that the EU was successful. .
The report identified four “tribes” that went a long way in gathering respondents ’jobs, depending on whether they felt the EU, US or China was rising or falling. The largest tribe, “In Europe we trust”, comprised 35% of respondents, and only 9% belonged to “In America we trust”.