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Germans see better ties with Biden's US: poll

Farah Bahgat
July 7, 2021

Germans' view of their country's relations with the United States has improved since Joe Biden was elected president to succeed Donald Trump, a survey has found.

https://p.dw.com/p/3w96g
Joe Biden, Angela Merkel and adviser Jan Hecker attend a bilateral meeting during a G7 summit
Angela Merkel and Joe Biden met during the G7 summit in JuneImage: Guido Bergmann/Bundesregierung/REUTERS

A poll published Wednesday has shown that ties between Germany and the United States have improved with the election of US President Joe Biden.

Former US President Donald Trump had pressured Germany over its failure to meet NATO's defense spending obligations and Berlin's insistence on buying Russian natural gas, among other issues. Both of those issues still irk the White House, but officials in Europe agree that US foreign policy has taken a less confrontational approach toward Europe since Biden took office.

What did the survey find?

The YouGov survey of 2,000 respondents found that 66% believed relations had improved between Germany and the US, and 19% said nothing changed.

Last year, a similar poll found that only 19% of Germans viewed the US as a friendly ally. The figure jumped to 42% this year.

The number of Germans who consider the US ill-disposed to their country fell from 27% last year to 11%.

'Stronger than ever'

On a diplomatic level, German officials have signaled relief over the election of Biden, who has made it clear that he was taking a different course than his predecessor. 

Biden said after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this month that the ties between the two countries were "stronger than ever." 

In May, Biden's administration lifted sanctions on the company operating the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a project to facilitate the transportation of natural gas to Western Europe. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also emphasized that maintaining good relations with Berlin was high on Washington's agenda.

"I think it's fair to say that the United States has no better partner, no better friend in the world than Germany," Blinken said in his most recent trip to Berlin.

DPA contributed to this report.