Two years after launching a full-scale invasion, Germans now see issues such as immigration and the threat from radical Islam as more pressing than those from the Kremlin, although Russia has shown no sign it plans to stop its unprovoked attacks on Ukraine.
Publish time: 12/02/2024 – 16:18
7 minutes
POLITICO reported today that Germans no longer view Russia as the biggest threat. Although Russia was considered Germany’s top threat in last year’s Munich Security Index, it has now slipped to seventh place in the annual report. And concerns among G7 countries about the danger posed by Moscow are also waning.
That’s according to new research released on Monday ahead of the Munich Security Conference, a gathering of senior political and defense officials that opens in Germany on Friday.
This pattern in Germany has been replicated across the G7 countries. In a late 2022 survey of the 2023 Munich Security Index, the threat posed by Russia was listed as the top concern, but fell to fourth place overall a year later.
The findings come at a critical moment in the war, as Ukraine seeks to shore up European support as U.S. commitment to the war wavers amid persistent Republican opposition in Congress.
Earlier this month, the EU agreed to provide Kyiv with a 50 billion euro aid package, but there is already evidence that it is not enough as Ukraine’s financial needs grow.
The survey concluded that the German public is less concerned about the Russian threat than before, suggesting that Europe’s priorities are changing as the intractable war enters its third year.
Although Ukraine has inflicted significant damage on Russian forces since the war began, its 2023 counteroffensive has been slow to progress. In an effort to recalibrate the country’s military strategy, President Zelensky last week replaced top general Valery Zaluzhny with Alexander Silsky and began a broader leadership reshuffle.
The war in Ukraine is expected to be a theme at this year’s Munich Security Conference. Although it has not been confirmed, Zelensky himself is widely expected to make an appearance. Two years ago, just days before a full-scale Russian invasion began, he flew to Munich and made a desperate plea for international aid at a conference.
The 2024 Munich Security Index also reveals how the war in Ukraine competes with other geopolitical threats and priorities.
In a shift from last year, concerns about mass immigration and radical Islamic terrorism are now the top threats facing Germany.
The threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism jumped to second place from 16th last year. Mass migration due to war or climate change ranked second last year and now ranks first. The report’s authors attributed the trend to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, noting that the survey was conducted in October and November of last year.
“Like many other countries, the October 7 Hamas terror attack appears to have prompted a surge in concerns about radical Islamic terrorism in Germany,” the report states, adding that “among the countries surveyed, Germany is now the most concerned about immigration “The highest level of concern.”
The survey, which interviewed 12,000 people last fall, also provides a glimpse into the pessimistic thinking of many of the world’s richest countries, according to POLITICO. The report notes that a majority of people in G7 countries believe their countries will be less safe and less wealthy in ten years.
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2024-02-12 15:18:50
