German Public Mood Reaches Pessimistic Low / Die Deutschen im Stimmungstief

(English translation: please scroll down)

Es ist wirklich bedauerlich, daß die USA nicht die Ratschläge der deutschen Regierung für die Lösung der Irak-Krise beachtet haben. Es ist so offensichtlich, daß Kanzler Schröder und seine rot-grüne Koalition es verstehen, mit politischen Problemen zuhause und international zurecht zu kommen - man muß nur auf die großartigen Ergebnisse der letzten Meinungsumfragen schauen.

Die Deutschen im Stimmungstief

Frankfurt/Main (AP) Traut man den Antworten der Bürger in Meinungsumfragen, befindet sich Deutschland zurzeit im Stimmungstief. Die am Wochenende bekannt gewordenen Erhebungen besagen vor allem, dass die wirtschaftliche Lage allen Aufschwungprognosen zum Trotz düster gesehen wird: Kaum jemand glaubt, dass es schon 2004 wieder aufwärts geht. (Gesamte Meldung)

English translation
Translation by Ray D..

Too bad the US didn't heed the German government's advice how to handle the Iraq crisis. It's so obvious German Chancellor Schroeder and his Red-Green coalition know how to deal with political problems at home and abroad - just look at the magnificient results of the latest opinion polls.

AP: German Public Mood Reaches Pessimistic Low

If you believe the answers given by citizens in polls then Germany is currently experiencing a new pessimistic low. The survey made public last weekend shows above all that the economic situation is seen as gloomy despite all of the predictions of recovery: Hardly anyone believes that things will get better in 2004.

In a poll carried out for (the Sunday newspaper) “Bild am Sonntag,” Forsa found that of 1,009 respondents, 74 percent rated the economic situation as being worse than it was a year ago. Concurrently, the news magazine “Der Spiegel” publicized an NFO-Infratest-poll carried out with nearly the same number of respondents in which only 21 percent expected an economic upturn for the coming year. Parallel to that, 70 percent expect that unemployment would likely rise rather than fall.

Furthermore, the majority of Germans see the expansion of the European Union as a threat: According to “Spiegel” 68 percent of respondents fear negative effects from the joining of new Eastern European countries. Of course, the social security systems took the biggest loss in standing – 88 percent told
the Forsa interviewers that their faith in the social state and the pension system fell further in the past year.

The biggest outrage from 2003 was cited by 83 percent of Germans as being the new fee for visits to the doctor’s office that will be charged starting this coming January 1. According to a poll of 500 respondents carried out by the market research institute Valid Research and published in the news magazine “Focus,” the lengthy fight over reforms came in second at 82.4 percent. The inconsistencies surrounding PR contracts given by the German Federal Bureau of Employment and its head Florian Gerster took third place with 80.1 percent. The problems with the highway toll system and deposit system for aluminum cans took the fourth and fifth places.

In addition, the Forsa poll lets one come to the conclusion that the people currently have very little faith in their political leaders. 47 percent of the respondents rated the work of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with “poor.” But 38 percent of respondents also rated the work of CDU Chairwoman Angela Merkel as “poor.” Among East German respondents, the rating was an even higher 43 percent of the opinion Merkel was doing a poor job.

According to a “Focus” poll, Germans good resolutions are topped by healthy living” ahead of “living more consciously,” “more time for the family” and “doing more for education.” Remarkably low in the rankings in seventh and ninth place are “save more” and “work more.”

(Another posting you might find interesting: Germany's Ruling Left Are Once Again On The Wrong Side Of History)

And here's my homepage - you'll find lots of postings regarding relations between the US and Germany.

Comments

[TM Lutas]

You don't work, you don't have. The german people have decided not to work and now are depressed to find that they do not have.

[Erik Eisel]

I don't get it. Didn't the survey respondents read Gerhard's article in today's Wall Street Journal? Don't they know that he recently fixed all their problems? His plan is all very clearly, very thoroughly laid out.
Why don't they give him any credit? Do they need a spanking?