A majority of Germans are against increasing financial aid to Ukraine, a survey by Forsa has found. According to the poll, released on Monday by RTL and ntv, 42 percent of respondents are in favor of Germany stepping in to fill the gap if the US were to cut its aid to Ukraine, while 52 percent are against it.
Majorities of supporters of the Union, the Social Democratic Party, the Left Party and the Greens are in favor of increasing German financial aid to Ukraine in the event of a US withdrawal, with the Greens’ supporters showing the strongest support at 77 percent. In contrast, the supporters of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) are vehemently against more financial support for Ukraine, with 83 percent opposing it.
Regional differences also emerged, with 43 percent of western Germans in favor of increasing financial aid, compared to 35 percent in the east.
Opinions on the possibility of Ukraine’s membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) have become more cautious in recent months. Currently, 14 percent of respondents are in favor of Ukraine’s rapid admission to NATO, a three-percentage-point decrease from the previous year. Forty-six percent are in favor of Ukraine’s long-term membership in NATO, a four-percentage-point decrease. Thirty-three percent are against Ukraine’s membership in NATO, a four-percentage-point increase, with the AfD’s supporters and eastern Germans showing the strongest opposition.
A majority of Germans, 61 percent, believe it is possible that Russia could attack a NATO member in the next few years, as they did in February of the previous year. Thirty-five percent believe it is unlikely, with the AfD’s supporters showing the lowest percentage of concern at 39 percent and the Greens’ supporters showing the highest at 85 percent.
Fewer than one-fifth of Germans, 18 percent, still consider the United States a reliable partner for Germany, with 80 percent, a large majority across all political spectrums, believing the US is no longer a reliable partner.
Two-thirds of Germans, 66 percent, support doubling Germany’s defense spending by 2032, as announced by the Federal Minister of Defense to meet the new NATO goal, while one-third, 32 percent, are against it. The supporters of the Union, the SPD and the Greens all support the increase, with more than 70 percent of each group in favor. Half of the AfD’s supporters and more than half of the Left Party’s supporters are against the increase. The survey, conducted on June 19 and 20, was based on the responses of 1,004 people.