Public Support for the Government’s Foreign and Defense Policy

A public opinion poll conducted by Infratest dimap for ARD-Deutschlandtrend in early March gave the government its best marks in foreign and defense policy.  According to the poll, 67 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with the government’s conduct of foreign policy, and only 28 percent said they were dissatisfied.  A slight majority of 51 percent also said they were satisfied with the government’s conduct of defense policy, compared to 41 percent who said they were dissatisfied.  The government’s work across all areas was viewed positively by only 47 percent of respondents, while 51 percent said they were dissatisfied.  The government received poor marks for its domestic policy, especially its social and energy policies, which were viewed negatively by 68 and 73 percent of the public respectively. [1]

Stephan Wallace is a defense and security policy analyst following political, military, and economic developments in Europe. He has worked more than 33 years on this area for the U.S. government, most recently for the U.S. Department of Defense. He can be contacted by email at wallace.stephan@gmail.com. The views expressed are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American-German Institute (AGI).