KOMPAS.com – Besides worrying about the political impact Donald Trump, citizen German also worried about the economic impact, but they believe the German government has implemented the right policies.
For 28 years, Germany’s largest insurance company R + V has been conducting a survey on people’s concerns.
In the year of the corona pandemic, the level of public concern as a whole actually decreased.
This result surprised even the researchers. The worry index has even reached the lowest level since the concern survey was conducted, from 39 percent in 1992 to 37 percent in 2020.
“The Germans are not reacting to the pandemic in panic,” Brigitte Romstedt, director of information at R + V told DW. “A lot of that worry seems to be easing.”
People have the feeling that “everything is under control and we can handle this,” explains Brigitte Romstedt. This attitude is different from a few years ago when there was war, terrorism, the political crisis of immigration, and extremism were the biggest fears of the German people.
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The German population is not too afraid of the corona pandemic
For the study, some 2,400 men and women in Germany aged 14 and over were surveyed between early June and late July this year.
Researchers asked respondents about their greatest fears in politics, economics, personally and in their environment.
The survey results show that the German population is relatively unafraid of the current pandemic. Only 32 percent (35 percent previous year) said they were afraid of falling ill because of a serious illness. Even though this year there is a corona pandemic.
“Only about one in three people surveyed said they were afraid that they or others in their social circle could become infected corona virus, “kata Brigitte Romstedt.
Similar findings were made earlier this month by another survey, Deutschlandtrend.
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The economic impact of the corona is more of a concern than the virus
Only 42 percent of respondents said they were concerned that globalization could cause pandemics to occur more frequently in the future.
“Given the rapid spread of the virus around the world, we expect higher numbers. But according to our findings, people are much more afraid that the virus could threaten their economic well-being than their health,” said Brigitte Romstedt.
Job loss fears are back at the top of the fear index in the economy this year. Concern about rising cost of living ranks second.
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Donald Trump’s most feared politics
On November 3, there will be presidential elections in the US. For many Germans, Donald Trump’s victory is a nightmare.
Trump tops the list of fears, with 53 percent of respondents saying they fear the political repercussions.
“Trump’s foreign policy has repeatedly caused serious international problems,” said Manfred G. Schmidt, a political scientist at Ruprecht-Karls University in Heidelberg. Washington also continues to withdraw from international cooperation, he added.
On the political front, concerns about immigration have fallen to their lowest level in five years. In 2020, 43 percent of people surveyed said they were concerned that the influx of foreigners could cause tensions between residents and newcomers.
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But the number of people worried that Germany could be overwhelmed by refugee arrivals has fallen from 56 percent last year to 43 percent this year.
The results also surprised the researchers: German society became more confident in politics and politicians than ever before.
Only about 40 percent of respondents said they are currently worried that politicians are not doing their job well.
This is the lowest figure since 2000. According to the study authors, this has something to do with general public satisfaction with the German government’s crisis management during the coronavirus pandemic.
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