More than half of Germans believe that the sanctions against Russia will harm Germany more than Russia. However, even more Germans are in favor of maintaining or even tightening these sanctions.
More than half of Germans are currently of the opinion that the sanctions imposed on Russia harm Germany more than Russia. In the RTL and ntv trend barometer, this is what 57 percent of respondents say. Only 21 percent believe that the sanctions will harm Russia more than Germany. 18 percent believe that the sanctions will harm Germany and Russia in the same way. Only among supporters of the Greens do the proportions who think the sanctions will hurt Russia more do slightly outnumber those who think the sanctions will hurt Germany more.
At the same time, only a minority of 30 percent is in favor of relaxing (18 percent) or completely lifting (12 percent) the sanctions imposed on Russia. A majority of 63 percent of Germans believe that the sanctions against Russia should remain unchanged (33 percent) or be tightened (30 percent).
East Germans (48 percent) and supporters of the AfD (82 percent) are in favor of easing or lifting all sanctions with an above-average frequency.
Forty-five percent of respondents said their fear of the war in Ukraine spreading to other countries in Europe and the possible use of nuclear weapons increased after Russia annexed the areas in eastern Ukraine. 49 percent say their fear has not changed. 4 percent are less afraid of a further escalation of the war than before.
Less than a third (30 percent) of Germans believe that Ukraine, after recapturing some of the areas occupied by the Russian army, is also able to push Russia out of all occupied areas and ultimately defeat it. A majority of 62 percent – across all political camps – does not believe that Ukraine is capable of doing this. Comparatively most frequently, supporters of the Greens (44 percent) assume that Ukraine could also oust Russia from the whole of Ukraine again.
The sympathy of German citizens for Ukraine’s possible admission to the European Union is much more restrained compared to the last surveys in early summer. At the beginning of October, only 42 percent of Germans (compared to 55 percent in June) thought Ukraine’s EU membership would be the right thing to do. On the other hand, 49 percent (13 percentage points more than in June) did not think the inclusion was right.
Only supporters of the SPD (55 percent) and especially the Greens (66 percent) are currently in favor of Ukraine’s future membership of the European Union. A majority of East Germans (57 percent) and supporters of the FDP (53 percent), the Union parties (51 percent) and above all the AfD (84 percent) are currently opposed to future EU membership for Ukraine.
Against the background of threatening bottlenecks in the energy supply on the one hand and climate change on the other hand, the further use of coal is currently being discussed. Only a minority of Germans (28 percent) believe that Germany’s phase-out of coal energy, which was actually planned for 2038, should be brought forward and should take place as early as 2030.
Instead, a clear majority of 65 percent is in favor of the phase-out of coal taking place as planned in 2038 (34 percent) or even after 2038 (31 percent). A majority of only the supporters of the Greens (61 percent) advocate an early phase-out of coal-fired energy by 2030.
Recently, Angela Merkel’s policies during her chancellorship have been held responsible for the current energy crisis and energy prices from various quarters. 37 percent of Germans share this opinion. A clear majority of 60 percent, on the other hand, does not think that Merkel’s policies can be held primarily responsible for the current energy crisis. Comparatively most frequently, supporters of the Greens (50 percent) and AfD (56 percent) hold Merkel’s policies responsible for the current energy crisis.
41 percent of Germans believe that Merkel would be better able to deal with the current crises than the incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 50 percent think that Merkel would not cope better than Scholz. A majority of East Germans and supporters of the CDU and FDP believe that Merkel would be better able to deal with the current crises than her successor.
The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of RTL Germany on October 7 and 10, 2022. Database: 1002 respondents. Statistical error tolerance: /- 3 percentage points.
More information about Forsa here.Forsa surveys commissioned by RTL Germany.
