A new survey has shed light on the levels of trust Germans have in non-political institutions. Many believe in cops, professors and physicians, but are far more skeptical of insurance companies and managers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Seeger
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Germans have a lot of trust in the police and doctors, but strongly distrust public relations firms and Islam, according to a new study released Tuesday.
The "2017 RTL/n-tv-Trendbarometer" survey by public opinion research firm forsa on behalf of the RTL media group asked more than 2,300 respondents about their trust in 26 non-political institutions.
Trust is highest for the police (83 percent), universities (80 percent), doctors (78 percent) and the respondent's own employer (75 percent).
The bottom of the pack included corporations (27 percent), insurance companies (17 percent), Islam (9 percent), managers (6 percent) and public relations firms (5 percent).
"Following the discussions around the automobile industry, Air Berlin's bankruptcy and the planned job cuts at Siemens, public trust in businesses, managers, employers' associations and insurance companies is far lower," said the head of forsa, Professor Manfred Güllner.
He added that recent terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists had led to a significant loss of trust in Islam, which lost 16 percentage points compared to 2016.
Respondents living in the states that made up former communist East Germany have a particularly low level of trust in the media, including in the radio (41 percent), the press (27 percent) and television (16 percent).
In only three institutions do Germans from eastern states have slightly more trust than Germans from the west: doctors, the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the main Jewish association in Germany, and its Islamic equivalent, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.
Respondents who identified themselves as supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party had a lower level of trust compared to non-supporters in almost all of the institutions surveyed.
AfD supporters particularly mistrust television (13 percent), the Central Council of Jews in Germany (13 percent) and Islam (0 percent).
"AfD supporters have a hostile opinion of the entire societal system," Güllner said. "The deep-seated mistrust is evidence for how large the gulf between the minority of AfD supporters and the majority of society."
The friendly faces of the AfD? Germany's new parliamentary representatives
After the 2017 election, the far-right populist party enters the Bundestag for the first time. But who exactly are some of the Alternative for Germany's representatives — and what have they said and done?
Image: picture-alliance/NurPhoto/E. Contini
Siegbert Droese
The head of the AfD in Leipzig was the center of controversy in 2016 when newspapers reported that a car in his motor pool had the license plate: "AH 1818." "AH" are the initials of Adolf Hitler. 1 and 8, the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, are considered a code for Adolf Hitler among neo-Nazi groups.
Image: Imago/J. Jeske
Sebastian Münzenmaier
As the AfD's lead candidate in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 28-year-old Münzenmaier cruised to a seat in the Bundestag. Münzenmaier made headlines in October when he was convicted of being an accessory to assault in a case of football hooliganism. But because that's considered a minor offense, he is able to exercise his mandate.
Image: Imago/S. Ditscher
Albrecht Glaser
The 75-year-old former CDU man is the AfD's choice for Bundestag vice-president, but members of the other parties say they won't approve his candidacy. Glaser once opined that Muslims shouldn't enjoy freedom of religion because Islam is a political ideology. Critics reject that view as unconstitutional.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kappeler
Markus Frohnmaier
Frohnmaier is the chair of the party's youth organization, Junge Alternative. The 28-year-old wrote in August 2016 on Facebook that "our generation will suffer the most" from Merkel's decision to "flood this country with the shoddy proletariat from Africa and the Orient."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. Weißbrod
Martin Reichardt
The former soldier from Lower Saxony once told a journalist that he had no problem with "Germany for the Germans," a phrase that is often used by neo-Nazi groups. He has also collectively described the Green Party and The Left party as "constitutional enemy No. 1."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Bein
Wilhelm von Gottberg
The 77-year-old from Brandenburg was vice president of the Federation of Expellees (BdV) until 2012. He wrote in the newspaper "Ostpreussenblatt" in 2001 that he agreed with the statement that the Holocaust was a "myth" and an "effective instrument to criminalize the Germans and their history."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Brakemeier
Jens Maier
In January, the Dresden judge railed against the "creation of mixed nationalities" that are "destroying national identity." He has also called for an end to Germany's "culture of guilt" surrounding the country's actions in the Second World War.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Kahnert
Beatrix von Storch
The AfD's vice-chair is an MP in the European parliament and is known for her hardline conservative views. In 2016, she replied affirmatively to a Facebook user who had asked her whether armed force should be used to stop women with children from illegally entering Germany. She later apologized for the comment.
Image: Reuters/W. Rattay
Alexander Gauland
One of the AfD's top candidates, Gauland was widely criticized after suggesting that the German government's commissioner for integration, Aydan Özoguz, should be "disposed of" in Turkey because she had said that there was no specifically German culture beyond the German language.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Murat
Alice Weidel
The 38-year-old economist was the AfD's other top candidate. Despite living in Switzerland, Weidel ran for the Baden-Württemberg constituency of Bodensee. She drew criticism for describing Germany's integration commissioner Aydan Özoguz, who has Turkish roots, as a "stain" and a "disgrace." In a contested email attributed to Weidel, she called Angela Merkel's government "pigs" and "puppets."
Image: Getty Images/S. Schuermann
Frauke Petry
For a long time Frauke Petry was the face of the AfD, and she's one of the more recognizable figures in the Bundestag. But she's no longer a member of the right-wing populist party. Petry quit shortly after the election after falling out with other leaders. Because she won her voting district outright, she still gets a Bundestag mandate, where she sits as an independent.
