Germans: US President Bigger Problem Than North Korea

According to a survey, Germans see US President Donald Trump as a bigger challenge for German foreign policy than authoritarian leaders in North Korea, Russia or Turkey.

Topping the list of foreign policy concerns were refugees, with 26 percent of respondents worried about Germany's ability to cope with inflows of asylum seekers, SBS reported.

Relations with Trump and the United States ranked second, with 19 percent describing them as a major challenge, followed by Turkey at 17 percent, North Korea at 10 percent and Russia at eight percent.

In the Koerber Foundation poll of 1,005 Germans of voting age, 56 percent of Germans described the relationship with the United States as bad or very bad.

Since entering the White House in January, Trump has unsettled Germans by criticizing Germany’s trade surplus and its contributions to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Trump has also irritated Germany with his decision to pull out of the globally-approved Paris climate accord and his refusal to certify — under a domestic US law — Iran’s commitment to an international agreement.

Germany is a party to that deal, and Iran’s compliance has been verified by the official institution in charge of verification, namely the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Anticipating Trump’s irregular behavior, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said soon after his rise to the US presidency that there were no guarantees for “eternal” US cooperation with the European countries.
 [farsnews.com]
 5/12/17