News / Germany

Donald Trump is more frightening than coronavirus: Germans say

Friday, 11 September 2020 10:11 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 11 September 2020 10:28 AM ]

A demonstrator wearing a mask depicting US President Donald Trump holds a placard during a rally against the government's coronavirus restrictions in Berlin, Germany August 29, 2020. (Photo by Reuters)xel Schmidt

Germans are more concerned with the policies of Donald Trump than the coronavirus pandemic, according to an annual survey that says the respondents believed the US president's policies would make the world a more dangerous place.

An annual survey, entitled “Fears of Germans,” said some 53% of those asked put the US president on the top of the list of their worries.

The survey did not give details on which aspects of Trump’s policies worried Germans.

According to political scientist Manfred Schmidt of the Ruprecht-Karls-University in Heidelberg, Germans are concerned over Trump’s foreign policy.

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“Particularly notable are the trade-war-like conflicts with China and trade and security policy attacks against allies, including Germany,” he said.

“In addition, the withdrawal of the United States from international cooperation and the confrontation with Iran,” Schmidt added.

The survey that was conducted in June and July said rising living costs, the economic situation and the cost to taxpayers of European Union debt came second, third and fourth for traditionally cautious Germans.

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Thousands of people reportedly signed up to attend the demonstration against coronavirus measures before it was banned by city authorities.

The coronavirus, which has wreaked havoc on Germany, has concerned Germans much less than Trump’s policies.

Only around a third of those asked in the survey said they were concerned that they or someone they knew well would get COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus.

The new infections are rising again, with health authorities having recorded a total number of 258,107 cases of infection and 9,419 coronavirus related deaths.

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