The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel , will say goodbye to the Chancellery after the parliamentary elections this Sunday and will do so as one of the international leaders who generates the most confidence in most countries, according to a survey that reflects a constant trend of support throughout these 16 years of uninterrupted government.
The survey, prepared by the Pew Research Center , clicks on the opinion of more than 16,200 people in 16 countries, including Germany and Spain, to examine how they feel about a leader who is already leaving, after she herself decided not stand for reelection as a candidate for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
Only the president of the United States, Joe Biden, generates more trust than Merkel globally. The tenant of the White House receives the support of 76 percent of the people surveyed, compared to 72% obtained by Merkel – the figure for the German Chancellor rises to 76% in Spain.
The conservative leader, however, surpasses the data of the French Emmanuel Macron (58%), the Russian Vladimir Putin (23%) and the Chinese Xi Jinping (18%) and also maintains a solid base practically since he began his career at the helm. of the Executive. In 2011 and 2018 alone, the confidence figure in Merkel fell by 70% in successive studies by the Pew Research Center.
The German peso in the EU
Germany has maintained in the hands of Angela Merkel a relevant weight within the European Union, but for all the Member States it is not excessive, at least on paper. 54% of the Europeans surveyed believe that Germany has the weight that it deserves by right, compared to 30% who consider it insufficient and 13% who consider it excessive.
The data, however, reflect a latent suspicion of Berlin among southern European countries. 53% of Spaniards believe that Germany commands more than it should among the Twenty-seven, while in Italy the proportion rises to 62% and in Greece it shoots up to 86%.
The disparity between countries is also maintained when the general perception of the economy is asked, since while 60% of Germans consider that their national finances are good, only 13% of Spaniards think so.
