Most Europeans believe that America’s political system is broken, that China will be the world’s leading power in a decade, and that Joe Biden will not be able to stop his country’s decline on the world stage, according to a report.
While many hailed Biden’s victory in the November US election, many Europeans believe that after four years of Donald Trump, the United States cannot be trusted, according to a study by the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“Europeans like Biden, but I don’t think America will return as a global leader,” said Mark Leonard, director of the think tank. “When George W Bush was president, they were divided on how America should use its power. With Biden’s entry into the White House, they are divided on whether America has any power. “
A survey of 15,000 people in 11 European countries at the end of last year found that a change in European sentiment towards the US following the Trump presidency had led to a strong desire to support Washington in possible international disputes.
At least half of respondents in all 11 countries surveyed felt, for example, that their government should remain neutral in any conflict between the US and China, while no more than 40% of any country said they would support it. Washington v. Russia.
“It is clear that the tumultuous Trump presidency has left an indelible mark on Europe’s attitude towards the United States,” said Ivan Krastev, chairman of the Center for Liberal Strategies, an NGO in Sofia and a member of the ECFR board. “Most Europeans are now skeptical about the US’s ability to shape the world. It makes many, rightly or wrongly, want to opt for a more independent role for the EU in the world. ”
In their report, Leonard and Krastev note that while more than 60% of respondents thought the US was “broken”, most rated the EU and their own systems more positively – an opportunity, they say, to harness power. of the bloc for the benefit and protection of its citizens.
The survey showed that 51% of respondents disagreed with the statement that, under Biden, the US would be likely to resolve its internal divisions and seek to address international issues such as climate change, Middle East peace, relations with China. or European security.
Amid widespread sentiment of growing Chinese superiority, 79% of those surveyed in Spain, 72% in Portugal, 72% in Italy and 63% in France said they considered China to overtake the US as a world superpower in the next decade.
Just over 32% of all respondents – and an astonishing 53% of respondents in Germany – felt that, after Trump’s vote, Americans could not be trusted. Only in Hungary and Poland were there significantly more people who disagreed with this view than they do.
Only 10% of respondents saw the US as a “reliable” security partner that would always protect Europe, while at least 60% of all respondents said they doubted their country could depend on US support in crisis case.
The authors say the geopolitical consequences of this change are significant: two-thirds of those surveyed said it was now important for Europe to take care of its own defense, including 72% in Portugal, 71% in Sweden, 70% in France and 69% in Poland.
At least half of the respondents in each country surveyed said they would prefer their government to be neutral in a conflict between the US and China. In the 11 states surveyed, only 23% of respondents considered that their country should take Washington’s side against Russia, with 59% preferring to remain neutral.
Between 38% and 48% of respondents in seven countries considered that the EU should take a tougher international position on issues such as trade, taxation and regulation, while most countries considered Germany to be a more important country with who “have a good relationship” with the US.
The survey also showed that in nine of the 11 countries – Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – where the same question was asked in previous years, the average share of policyholders The EU system worked very well or quite well increased from 46% to 48%.
It was found that people who believed that their own national political system worked, which happened more often in northern Europe than in southern Europe, were more likely to say that the EU was a success.
The report identified four “tribes” that have come a long way in grouping respondents’ positions, depending on how they feel that the EU, the US or China are rising or falling. The largest tribe, “We trust Europe,” comprised 35% of respondents, while only 9% belonged to “America we trust.”