RT
November 11, 2013
Germans’ confidence in the US as a trustworthy partner has plummeted following the NSA scandal, while Edward Snowden, who exposed America’s spying on its allies, is considered a hero by 60 percent of the population, a poll shows.
The recent chain of scandals over US global snooping has seriously damaged the opinion of Germans about their longtime ally.
Only 35 percent still see Washington as a reliable partner – a drop of 14 percent since July, according to a survey conducted by public broadcaster ARD and Die Welt daily. This year’s figures are a massive drop from the situation at the start of President Barack Obama’s presidency, when he was given an enthusiastic welcome on his first official visit to Berlin, and 76 percent of Germans said they trusted the US government in a Nov. 2009 poll.
US President Barack Obama’s personal approval rating with Germans has also plummeted. Once a highly popular foreign politician, now Obama enjoys support from only 43 percent of Germans, while over half are unhappy with his performance.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel – whose private mobile phone was also allegedly bugged by American security services – warned earlier that spying among friends was unacceptable. She made it clear to Obama that if the information was proven to be true, it would represented a “grave breach of trust.” Merkel also demanded that Washington sign up to a ‘no-spying’ agreement with Berlin and Paris by the end of this year.
But most Germans are not about to be fooled a second time around, it seems. Over 90 percent think that the Americans would breach a no-spying agreement anyway and continue their surveillance activities, the survey found.