A new YouGov poll has found that a majority of Germans are in favor of reducing reliance on the US and increasing ties with Russia. Chancellor Angela Merkel has said Germany cannot defend itself alone.
Image: Reuters/F. Mori
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A majority of Germans are in favor of reducing Germany's reliance on the United States militarily, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by the German news agency DPA.
According to the poll, 55% of Germans believe that European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) should protect themselves from an attack without US help. In addition, a majority of poll participants believe the US should partially (23%) or completely (26%) withdraw its 30,000 troops stationed in Germany.
Conversely, 54% said NATO should work more closely with Russia rather than relying on deterrence. Meanwhile, 37% are for lifting sanctions against Russia relating to its conflict with Ukraine on the Crimean Peninsula, while 34% are against lifting such sanctions.
NATO members are currently gathered in London for a tense two-day summit. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to hold talks with US President Donald Trump, who has criticized Germany and other NATO countries for not spending enough on defense.
However, 42% of Germans disagree with increasing the defense budget, currently 1.4% of GDP, while 36% agree. Nonetheless, 54% believe that NATO, which is set to celebrate its 70th birthday, is still a necessary organization.
Germany's defense department underwent a leadership change in July, with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the leader of Merkel's center-right CDU party, replacing current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Kramp-Karrenbauer has also advocated for more military spending and has promised the US greater military involvement.
DPA said 2,049 people took part in the survey, which took place between November 29 and December 2.
Donald Trump on NATO: Top quotes
From disparaging NATO member states to calling it "obsolete," US President Donald Trump has rarely said something positive about the decades-old military alliance. DW looks at the US president's most memorable quotes.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. Torres
Trump on NATO: A war of words
Even before taking office, US President Donald Trump's relationship with NATO has been a tumultuous one, to say the least. He has disparaged the trans-Atlantic alliance, once describing it as "obsolete" and a relic of the Cold War. Here are Trump's most memorable quotes about the military alliance, even if they are at times false.
Image: picture-alliance/Zumapress/J. Torres
'Days of the Soviet Union'
While on the campaign trail in 2016, Trump made clear that he saw NATO as a relic of the Cold War. "You know, we're dealing with NATO from the days of the Soviet Union, which no longer exists. We need to either transition into terror or we need something else." But his remarks didn't account for how the alliance backed the US well after the collapse of the Soviet Union, especially in Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Kulbis
'Germany owes vast sums'
Trump has made defense spending his main talking point on NATO. But he has falsely accused member states of owing money to Washington, saying: "Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO, and the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany." The problem is NATO doesn't work like that. No money is owed to the alliance for defense or otherwise.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
'Obsolete'
Days before his inauguration, Trump caught NATO members off guard when he claimed the alliance was "obsolete" and threatened to withdraw support. "I said a long time ago that NATO had problems: Number one, it was obsolete, because it was designed many, many years ago." Months later, he retracted his statement, citing changes within the alliance. "Now they fight terrorism," he said.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/T. Stavrakis
'Doesn't sound very smart'
Trump had tended to lump trade between US allies with how much Washington spends on defense. "We are spending a fortune on military in order to lose $800 billion (in trade losses). That doesn't sound very smart to me," Trump said. The problem is that while NATO members have agreed to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense, the alliance has nothing to do with international trade.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Vucci
'We are the schmucks'
During a 2018 rally in Montana, Trump hit out at European allies, saying: "They want (us) to protect against Russia, and yet they pay billions of dollars to Russia, and we're the schmucks paying for the whole thing." Trump was referring to Russia as Europe's primary source for oil and natural gas, but he created a false dichotomy between energy reliance and NATO's defense spending goal.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Kryeziu
'Congratulations, you're in World War III'
In an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked why the US should jump to the defense of NATO ally Montenegro if it was attacked. The president said he asked himself the same question, a remark that appeared to undermine the alliance's collective defense clause. Trump went on to describe Montenegrins as "very strong" and "very aggressive," and that that aggression risked starting World War III.
