European nations leaning toward populism tend to have the most favorable view of the United States, while those embracing globalism have the least favorable view, the Pew Research Center has revealed.
In a study released Monday, Pew found that among European nations, nationalist Poland has the most favorable opinion of the United States under Donald Trump, followed by Hungary, Italy, and the UK, while globalist Germany under Angela Merkel has the most negative views of America, followed by the Netherlands, Greece, and France.
The results of the Pew study line up almost exactly with the political trends happening throughout Europe and on which side of the populist/globalist divide each nation falls.
In Germany, which sits in the driver’s seat of the European Union and holds disproportionate sway over Brussels Eurocrats, 66 percent of the nation declares a negative opinion of the United States. Only 30 percent, on the other hand, say they have a positive view of America.
France, under the globalist presidency of Emmanuel Macron, is similarly tilted away from the U.S., with 60 percent of the population claiming a negative opinion of the country and just 38 percent holding a positive view.
On the flip side, a massive majority of citizens in populist Poland favor the United States, with 70 percent espousing a positive opinion of America and a mere 18 percent saying they disapprove of the U.S.
Under the populist-nationalist government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Hungary, too, has an overwhelmingly favorable outlook on the United States. While 63 percent of Hungarians approve of the U.S., just 30 percent hold a negative view of the country.
Italy, too, under its young populist coalition government that ran under a banner of Euroscepticism and opposition to uncontrolled mass immigration, leans in the pro-America direction. More than half of Italians (52 percent) have a favorable view of the United States under Donald Trump, whereas 39 percent report a negative view of America.
France’s Macron recently faced off against the European populist bloc represented by Italy’s Matteo Salvini and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, saying that he is their “chief adversary.”
Following meetings in Milan in late August, the Italian interior minister and Hungarian prime minister jointly vowed to demolish the current European Union (EU) globalist structure led by Macron, replacing it with a model that respects the national sovereignty of EU countries.
“In Europe, Macron is at the head of the parties that support immigration, on the other side are we ourselves, but we want to stop illegal immigration,” Mr. Orbán said.
In Europe, “a strong opposition is forming between nationalists and progressives” Macron said during a trip between Denmark and Finland in search of allies to forge a “progressive arc” of globalist nations against pro-sovereignty governments.
Macron’s “progressive arc” seems coincidentally to be the group with the least favorable views of the United States.
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