A majority of Europeans believe the US’ political system is broken, that China would be the world’s leading power within a decade, and that US president-elect Joe Biden would be unable to halt his nation’s decline on the world stage, a study by the European Council on Foreign Relations said.
While many welcomed Biden’s victory in the US election in November last year, more Europeans than not feel that after four years under US President Donald Trump, Washington cannot be trusted, the study showed.
“Europeans like Biden, but they don’t think America will come back as a global leader,” council director Mark Leonard said.
“When George W. Bush was president, they were divided about how America should use its power. With Biden entering the White House, they are divided about whether America has power at all,” he added.
The survey of 15,000 people in 11 European countries, conducted at the end of last year, found that the shift in European sentiment toward the US in the wake of the Trump presidency had led to a corresponding unwillingness to support Washington in potential international disputes.
At least half of respondents in all 11 countries surveyed felt, for example, that their government should remain neutral in any conflict between the US and China, while no more than 40 percent in any country said they would back Washington against Russia.
“It’s clear that the tumultuous Trump presidency has left an indelible imprint on Europe’s attitude towards the US,” said Ivan Krastev, chair of the Centre for Liberal Strategies, a non-
governmental organization in Sofia and a council board member.
“The majority of Europeans are now skeptical about the capacity of the US to shape the world. It makes many, rightly or wrongly, want to opt for a more independent role for the EU in the world,” he said.
While more than 60 percent of respondents believe the US is “broken,” most see the EU and their own countries’ systems much more positively, Leonard and Krastev said in the report, adding that this is an opportunity to harness the collective power of the bloc for the benefit and protection of its citizens.
The survey found that 51 percent of those polled did not agree with the statement that under Biden, the US was likely to resolve its internal divisions and seek to address international issues such as climate change, peace in the Middle East, relations with China or European security.
Amid a widespread sense of growing Chinese superiority, 79 percent of respondents in Spain, 72 percent in Portugal, 72 percent in Italy and 63 percent in France said they thought China would overtake the US as the world’s leading superpower within the next decade.
Just more than 32 percent of all respondents — and a startling 53 percent of respondents in Germany — felt that after voting for Trump, Americans could not be trusted.
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