17 July 2013

FAZ: German confidence in the EU is growing

A new Allensbach study shows that while Germans are far from thrilled with "Europe", they don't find it that bad either. Those who want the Deutschmark back are becoming fewer. The incipient federal election campaign may be the first one ever in which the issue of Europe plays a significant role.

Translated from the German

Although ever since its beginnings European integration has been a major concern for the federal government as well as large parts of the population, the significant integration steps took place either in the middle of the German legislative periods or were overshadowed by other political issues.

This time, it is radically different: the population is paying much more attention to what is happening in Europe, probably because ever since the sovereign debt crisis, European integration has become much more closely associated with traditionally domestic issues of economic and financial policy. It is reasonable to assume that under these circumstances the customary German friendliness towards Europe might wane, and in fact, especially after the outbreak of the crisis in Greece in 2010, it seemed as if the attitude towards European integration had changed for the worse.

But since then, the excitement has largely died down. Even though the economic and social problems have by no means been solved in many countries of the European Union, the European image of the Germans is once more approaching the positive levels from before the outbreak of the crisis. It is striking indeed that the reputation of the euro does not appear to have been permanently damaged by the crisis years. Today, 50 per cent of Germans say they do not want to return the D-Mark and only slightly more than a third disagree. This figure is higher than approval rates before 2011.

One gets the impression that European integration has become overall more important to the Germans, despite all scepticism concerning the financial risks of bailouts and crisis management. To the question "Is European integration and the development of the European Union more a cause for optimism or rather for concern?", 40 per cent answered that the agreement was for them a reason to rejoice. This figure is the highest in a decade.

What this also means is that the debt crisis has propelled the awareness of European issues among citizens. As with any strong brand, the ideas of Europe, which had remained blurred for many years, have become comparatively more vivid and alive - in their negative but also in their positive aspects. It looks as if many Germans are increasingly aware of what is at stake should European integration fail.

It is likely that this attitude is the reason for the very limited success so far of the new eurosceptic party, "Alternative für Deutschland". And if Europe should become an important factor in the election campaigns, it is likely the CDU/CSU will benefit from it – as they are perceived by the population as being the strongest euro-friendly political force in the party landscape.

Full article (in German)

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