A narrow majority of Germans are in favor of the German military participating in a possible peacekeeping force to monitor a ceasefire in Ukraine, according to a Forsa survey commissioned by the “Stern” magazine. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed support such an engagement, while 44 percent are against it and seven percent remain undecided.
The government of US President Donald Trump had called for the establishment of a peacekeeping force, with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer already expressing his willingness to do so. The German government responded cautiously on Monday.
The question of troop deployment, however, is a divisive issue in the nation. While 52 percent of those in western Germany would welcome a German contribution, 65 percent of those in eastern Germany are against it.
This pattern is consistent with the fact that supporters of the AfD and the Left party overwhelmingly reject the idea, with 83 percent of AfD voters and 89 percent of the Left party’s voters opposed. Even FDP supporters are against it, albeit with a narrow majority (50 to 47 percent).
On the other hand, a majority of voters from the Greens (77 percent), CDU/CSU (59 percent), SPD (54 percent) and the Left party (52 percent) support a peacekeeping mission.
The survey was conducted by the market and opinion research institute Forsa for the “Stern” magazine and RTL Deutschland on February 13 and 14, among 1,009 people.