Most oppose higher taxes or spending cuts to fund military expansion, a survey finds
The majority of Germans do not believe their armed forces are capable of protecting the country, a recent YouGov survey has found.
According to the International Flagship Survey published on Friday, 70% of respondents in Germany said they were not confident their armed forces were strong enough to fend off a potential attack. YouGov surveyed 2,079 adults across Germany between June 17 and July 1.
Although 40% of respondents said Germany spends too little on defense, 77% opposed higher taxes to fund defense spending, while 62% rejected cuts to public services and 59% opposed increased government borrowing.
Germany recorded the lowest level of confidence among the seven countries covered by the poll. Some 57% of respondents in Poland, 53% in both Britain and Australia, and 48% in Canada also doubted their armed forces’ ability to protect the country. By comparison, 52% of French respondents and 77% of Americans expressed confidence in their militaries.
The poll comes as US President Donald Trump has renewed threats to withdraw from NATO after its members declined to join the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran. Trump has often accused European NATO members of not spending enough on defense and described the military bloc as “a paper tiger.”
Germany has adopted a plan to increase defense spending, expand the active-duty military from around 183,000 personnel to 260,000, and grow the reserve force to 200,000, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The government reintroduced a military registration and monitoring system in January, sparking debate and protests. Deutsche Welle also reported a sharp rise in the number of young people opting out of military service as conscientious objectors.
Germany’s economy is reeling from the cost-of-living crisis and high energy prices, exacerbated by the phaseout of Russian energy supplies and the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Moscow has condemned what it calls the “militarization” of Germany and other European countries. President Vladimir Putin has said Russia would not attack a NATO member unless it were attacked first.
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