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Most Germans pleased with US election result

Davis VanOpdorp
November 12, 2020

A vast majority of Germans were pleased that Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the US presidential election, according to a new survey. Most also thought US-German relations would improve during Biden's presidency.

https://p.dw.com/p/3lDWc
A woman waves an American flag outside the US Embassy in Berlin
Image: Markus Schreiber/picture alliance/AP Photo

A new poll suggests that nearly nine out of 10 Germans were pleased with the outcome of the US presidential election which saw Joe Biden defeat incumbent Donald Trump.

In Thursday's Deutschlandtrend survey, conducted by German broadcaster ARD, 31% of respondents described the result as "good," and 58% as "very good."

Most also thought that German-US relations would improve during Biden's presidency. That is in direct contrast to four years ago, when a majority of Germans polled thought that relations would worsen under Trump.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has congratulated Biden on his election win. She said earlier this week that Germany would stand "side-by-side" with the US on world issues.

German relations with the US have soured during Trump's four years in office. The sitting US president has criticized Merkel's government over defense spending, pulling troops from American bases in Germany. He has also taken Merkel to task for Germany's involvement in the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.

COVID-19 skeptics take their outrage public

Third of Germans unlikely to get COVID-19 vaccination

In light of recent advancements in a coronavirus vaccine by German company BioNTech and US firm Pfizer, the survey found that not all Germans intend to get vaccinated against the disease.

According to the survey, 15% of Germans said they were definitely not willing to get vaccinated, a rise of 3 percentage points, while 14% said they were unlikely to be vaccinated, a 2% increase.

However, 94% of all respondents approved of a national plan to prioritize coronavirus vaccinations when one becomes available.

Germany, which has reported more than 700,000 cases and around 12,000 deaths since the pandemic began, has seen several protests against the government's measures to combat the nation's coronavirus epidemic. A protest in Leipzig last weekend saw police attacked with projectiles and fireworks. 

On Monday, BioNTech and Pfizer announced that their jointly developed vaccine appeared to provide immunity to COVID-19 in more than 90% of tests cases. The European Union later announced a deal that would secure 300 million doses of the vaccine from the two biotech firms. Each patient requires two doses.