Germans Say Russia More Reliable Than US

Germans increasingly see Russia as a more reliable partner than the US, a new study released on Saturday has found.

The poll of 1,004 people by research institute Infratest dimap showed that 28% of respondents felt Moscow was a reliable partner, compared to 25% for Washington, DW reported.

The result is the first time the public’s trust in the US has fallen below Russia in over a decade. An Infratest survey of public trust in Germany’s global partners in June found both countries tying at 21%.

France and Britain fared far better in the German public’s eyes. More than 90% said Paris was a reliable partner, while more than 60% said Britain, which has been trying to exit the European Union (EU), was a reliable partner.

The new results align with the findings of an August poll by the Pew Research Center that surveyed the public’s confidence in different world leaders.

Whereas 25% of Germans had confidence in Russian President Vladimir Putin, only 11 had confidence in US President Donald Trump.

America’s brand, Pew noted in an earlier study, has suffered in Germany since the election of Donald Trump in November 2016.

Nearly 60% of Germans had a favorable view of the US when Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, left office. That dropped to 35% at the beginning of Trump’s presidency.

The decline in Germany has reflected a worldwide trend. “Attitudes have taken a dramatic turn for the worse, especially in western Europe and Latin America,” the surveyors said.

Pew noted that the US’s favorability had only dramatically improved in one country: “Only in Russia has the image of the United States improved by a large margin.”