Two reports were released earlier this month containing survey results of Europeans and Americans on transatlantic affairs. The first report, Transatlantic Trends from the German Marshall Fund of the United States, 'is an annual public opinion survey examining American and European attitudes toward the transatlantic relationship.' Here are some highlights:
Fifty-eight percent of Europeans viewed U.S. leadership in world affairs as “undesirable,” compared with 36% who saw it as “desirable.”Though these numbers signify much less European confidence in US leadership than is desirable, European citizens could still be persuaded back into support of US policies if properly packaged (and sold by a different administration).
European attitudes toward Bush’s international policies remained critical (77% disapproval compared to 17% approval).
Forty-six percent of Europeans felt that transatlantic relations will stay the same following the U.S. presidential election in 2008 regardless of who is elected, compared with 35% who felt relations will improve and 6% who felt relations will get worse.
A second survey, by the University of Siena, Italy, looked also at the opinions of EU officials. The European Élites Survey 2007 found that 74% of Members of European Parliament and 77% of top EU officials 'felt strong US leadership to be desirable.' Over half of élites thought the swearing in of a new president will improve transatlantic relations.
The entirety of both reports are available online, and they contain many more interesting insights into the divisions and commonalities in American and European opinions.
No comments:
Post a Comment