Hello everyone. Confidence in the U.K. and the US has taken a bit of a battering recently. What do you think is needed to regain a bit of confidence? Personally I think a good coffee goes a long way!
2006 was the year when german top parties had promised in the previous elections not to increase the VAT, but afterwards formed a coalition and increased that by 20% with arguments like "our VAT is the lowest among the EU countries" which might have been right, but they missed where the government had been over the top. It was an era with high unemployment rates, the Schroeder government that had crushed the year before when Schroeder abused the constitution and used the "question of trust" himself to arrange earlier elections. It all depends when you start and where.
We do not have a democracy in the UK with the FPTP electoral voting system. We desperately need electoral reform and PR voting system. Our governments do not reflect the will of the people due to the bias and distortions in the voting system.
@@jamesprivetit should be noted that there are lots of PR systems, some will yield the same results as a FPTP system. Malta in the EU is a case in point.
You're suggestion to have coffee is coming as a surprise. Did you know that a popular German phrase says: "Abwarten und Tee trinken" (let's wait and have some tea).
I am from Denmark and I have seen the Germans protest. I was in Berlin at Brandenburger Tor. Suddenly I saw a big herd of sheeps, coming through the mass of tourists. I saw shepherds with signs and they gave out flyers. What makes it real German, was that behind the big herd of sheeps, was a couple of people with wheelbarrow and broom. They nicely removed the excrements from the sheeps. Only in Germany is a demonstration planned down to the smallest detail, so us, the tourist didn't get dirty footwear.
I think it was Lenin (yes, that one) who lamented that before Germans make a revolution, they would first make sure they bought all necessary tickets ...
As to the demonstration culture in Germany, there is a saying: "Bei Regenwetter findet die Revolution im Saale statt." In case of rain the revolution will be held indoors.
Do I have this right? The people in the UK trust the EU more than their government, the same EU they voted to leave. People/voters can be so fickle. I think what has changed in the US, where I am from, is that leaders have unlearned the lesson that politics and governance are two different things. Too many politicians are spending too much time trying to one-up or make the opposition look bad. They forget that once politics has won them the office they have to roll up their sleeves and get to work at good government. Part of that work involves getting together with the other side to work together for good government. What has changed in the media is that they use too many adjectives. They don't say "The President lost a vote in Congress today." They will say something like "The President was humiliated by a vote today in Congress." At one time we had people giving us the news, like Walter Cronkite, who we had no idea of who he voted for at election time. He said he knew he was doing a good job when the letters accusing him of being a Democrat and of being a Republican came to his office in equal measure. Today we have liberal media and conservative media. I like the new tone of your channel, the new direction it has taken. You have elevated beyond a travelogue, although when you were a travelogue you were one of the best.
Since the Brexit vote my confidence in the UK electorate has decreased dramatically. These days I largely think they get the government they deserve, although I do have sympathy for those who were too young to participate in the referendum. I was in that situation in 1975 when there was a referendum about joining the EEC. I was only 15 but given the choice I would have voted against joining. I still think we would have been better off not joining but leaving when we did, it was too late to turn the clocks back and restore previous trade deals etc with the Commonwealth countries. Something to bear in mind is that USA voted for Trump but UK didn't vote for Johnson.
The UK couldn't vote for Johnson initialially (because they weren't given a choice of voting for him). They did as soon as they could though - providing the conservatives with a massive majority in parliament which has been inherited by Liz Truss first and finally by Rishi Sunak now.
The UK didn't vote for BoJo? Come on, get real. They gave him a resounding majority to get Brexit done. And even though it is pure speculation, I have a very strong suspicion Brexit would not have happened if BoJo would have campaigned to remain. Farage would have been able to carry the campaign all by himself, only aided by some stuffy old suits.
Many many Brits became wealthier because of the EU. I think commonwealth would not survive, as it is too reminiscent of the colonial past, no matter how you redraw agreements. Eventually the UK would have to seek partnership with the EU. It is heartbreaking than many younger generation were striped of their future that the EU offered. I too was angry at the electorate, but the misinformation campaign from the political factions that supported Brexit was full on. They have been duped into some fantasy. Now the top 1% is free of the EU, but everyone else struggling. It’s so so sad.
2022 in Germany was the year of the energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine. The German government made several quick decisions like building LNG terminals, switching to new natural gas providers, the Deutschlandticket or subsidising the cost of energy. So perhaps 2022 was just an especially good year for the government because they could demonstrate that they could act quickly.
Hello also from Hamburg. Those who shout about this and that are usually the fringes. But what matters is what the silent majority think, and they seem to think differently to what the shouters say. They seem to trust the governement in the crisis. It says a lot about the current Governement. The traffic light coalition is in an extremely difficult situation, and they are doing their job well enough. My opinion.
It's not simply considered normal but necessary for people in the US and UK to criticise their governments. I dread the day when it stops. I'm German but recognise that Germany is a very young country with not a great deal of historical experience of distrust of government and expression of that distrust.
@@mark9294 I can't agree. It wasn't a standstill. But I could agree to the government being preoccupied with crisis management: Opel/GM crisis, debt crisis within the EU, global financial crisis, the response to Fukushima abandoning nuclear power generation, Ukraine crisis in 2014, Brexit, Trump, global pandemic 2020 ... not sure that list is complete.
@@sirrobinofloxley7156 may I ask have you ever engaged in politics, maybe even become member of a political party? Possibly made experiences with politics regarding your local community, village, town, city, etc.? Although local politics is often predominantly guided by pragmatism different general values and attitudes can play a role. However on that level politically active people often prefer staying outside of ideological trenches because different interests translate more immeditiately in different actions and measures. As a side effect politically active persons can learn what it actually means to respect other, especially opposite positions and opponents.
Confidence in the UK and US has indeed taken a battering, that's true. In fact, the world's oldest political party won't even be the opposition in the UK by the end of the next election,. Indeed, this is a distinct possibility, for most people are understandably really angry about the magnitude of incompetence ,ineptitude, and most of all arrogance on display. Yet another complete understatement, this is a very unattractive option when an election must take place. My point and rather sinister, the rest of Europe have their own issues to contend with, for almost the entire continent of Europe have moved to the hard right? The UK needs a peaceful and prosperous EU and USA by it's side.
Ok, there is a lot to unpack here… First of, the Gala is a boulevard magazine that is basically royals, hair styles and beauty tips and nothing else…it‘s not even a newspaper, so I‘d distrust any poll they did solely on journalistic integrity. Secondly, since you were talking in English I have no idea how the German question was phrased…. because in English, from my understanding, ‚the government‘ isn‘t necessarily the ‚Ampel-Koalition‘, but the whole structure…. I also heavily disagree with the statistics you mentioned, and it is not at all my own feeling of dissatisfaction and disillusionment that has never been as prominent in the last decade as now… So I just googled ‚Zufriedenheit mit der Arbeit der Bundesregierung 2024‘ and this poll showed 78% of people are dissatisfied (37%), or very dissatisfied (41%), …..with the work of our current government coalition. Only 17% of people said they were satisfied, and only 2% of people claimed to be very satisfied. I realize they asked about satisfaction, not trust, so that is probably the issue here…. Germans never *trust* politicians anyhow….been there, done that, …never again
Interesting points. Yes government is referring to the whole structure including institutions such as the police, parliament, Supreme Court etc. the media is often also lumped in there as well. I understand trust is a little tricky. It’s maybe a bad example but all I can say is that the policy during Covid of dictating what people could and couldn’t do based on their vaccination status would not have been accepted in the U.K. whereas in Germany there was not much resistance…because people trusted that it was the right thing to do.
@@britingermany Yes, we did…I did, too…until Omicron, that is. The virus had mutated so much, the initial vaccine had been reduced to ineffectiveness, and it had been scientifically proven not to inhibit virus spread … ..yet all the old narratives were kept alive, the same measures were applied and even in April 23 at my HNO doctor they were asking for people to enter the office masked and were still vaccinating (with the old vaccine)💉 So now, people who were well enough educated in virology, did their due diligence and listened to eminent professors in their field of epidemics and virology, sentiments have turned sour. I got vaccinated 3 times, had no issue whatsoever, but might not go so willingly the next time. Implementing measures when a new virus appears where little to nothing is known about is all fine and dandy, but not retracting them when new scientific results come out shows a very open power grab and a large step towards totalitarianism…no, thank you.
@@lynnm6413 I also think the structure of German politics is quite different to the U.K. and US which means the leading party has less power than in those countries. It’s more decentralised and people maybe have more to do with their local officials than in the U.K.
@@britingermany yes, that‘s definitely a plus…we have a very overblown bureaucracy due to federal differences, but ultimately, regional interests and cultural norms vary so greatly that most issues people deal with on the daily will be voted about in the state elections, not the federal one.
I think the poll was done by Gallup, not by 'Gala', so it might deserve a bit more trust than you thought😉. But you're right regarding the phrasing of questions. It's very important to know how exactly the poll was done to be able to interpret the answers with any confidence.
"Gen Z" takes a lot of flak from old gits like me, but I find it inspiring and quite heartwarming to hear that 95% of them have no confidence in the press. Maybe there's hope even yet? Having trust in something is not the great quality it might once have been. 100% of cows trust their farmer - to them, that final climb up the ramp of the lorry, is a move to better grazing. We have all learned over the events of the past four years and more - those who have an inquisitive disposition, a backbone and an internet connection, that is - that blind faith in governments and institutions is definitely not a healthy state of mind I'm baffled about the German people. From my distance I admire German achievement greatly and my perception is that it has come through a national/ethnic/societal propensity toward fastidiousness and an innate interest, just in things being in their right place - my admiration sits on the basis of my shared outlook. However, I'm baffled. How can such a responsible mindset allow itself to be made to accept, with little protest, the eye-watering kicks in the gonads that Germany is taking? It's all very well being confident in your government, if only they are looking after you; but how are the German people putting-up with having their business model trashed by their supposed close ally? Put bluntly, who blew-up Nordstream and why is nobody wanting to know? What happens in US and UK politics when confidence levels go even lower? Well then the way is clear to sweep away the semblance of democracy and crack-on with the authoritarian collectivist project that our elite class is so patiently waiting to introduce.
Interesting points you make. Yes it's healthy to be sceptical and to demand more. Social cohesion is very important in Germany....it's kind of baked into the culture and so it's difficult to go against this here. Lacking trust is not the same as taking action and so while it's easy to say you don't trust something it's much harder to turn that into action that result sin change...
The Gala poll isn‘t representative of the widespread dissatisfaction with our current government coalition. I wrote some more details up above, it basically a very reliable poll done by the ARD, the first German public television station with >1,8k people asked revealed that 78% of people are dissatisfied/highly dissatisfied with the work of the Ampel
@@lynnm6413 And is highly touted about by german right-wingers, anti-vaxers and similar "well informed sceptics". Not saying that there isn't reason dissatisfaction. But there is a major difference between dissatisfaction and "we are the people, torches and pitchforks, regime change any day now".
@@AleaumeAnders right... no one claimed any such thing in this video. But dissatisfaction of 78% doesn't at all mash with the high numbers of 'trust' in the government that was purported by the Gala poll. And you can go ahead and call the ARD leftist and biased towards the coalition... but what one really cannot call them is right wing adjacent. 😂 As a matter of fact, I was surprised they even published it, since it doesn't fit 'the narrative' 😬
I agree. As owner of the US TV network Fox News and of the British daily newspaper The Sun - to name the most popular of his media outlets - he has contributed significantly to the popularity of Donald Trump, Christian Nationalists, the Tea Party movement, Boris Johnson and Brexit. However, in the UK there are even more media companies who have been banging the drums for Brexit and Johnson, like the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and Daily Express.
Thanks for this. It is a very interesting discussion. Speaking entirely for myself, first and foremost, I have absolutely no desire to visit either the US or the UK. It's obviously a very limited view, fed to a large degree by algorithms, but it seems that there is a lot more awareness among citizens of the US and UK nowadays for the differences in lifestyle and mindset with those of the EU or the rest of the world. When comparing it's easy enough to see what a more human, less hysterical pop star style, relatively social and pragmatic life looks like. This medium is full of comparison videos. People are being sucked into the bubble of their phones and being confronted with these comparisons and differences, which also feeds the dissatisfactions and depressions that are becoming increasingly problematic. The UK government would lose even more credibility is the idea probably, if it would admit that Brexit, or at the very least, the handling of it, has been a bit of a disaster. Of course the people are distrustful and they also know that the ego's aren't going anywhere. It's swapping out one ego for another. The US is notorious when it comes to egotripping. That has been, and still is, the driving force of the country. The advantage of being part of a group is that there is always some framework within which one can test for extremes. Otherwise you're out there on your own and more susceptible to whatever and whoever manages to come up with a good-enough-sounding pop song. Even when a popstar wins, it's not the end of the story because of mitigating factors built into the system. Boring? Sure. But also intelligent and realistic. Rome wasn't built in one day. It's in constant development, creating a sustainably dynamic environment to be part of. Of course countries in the EU also complain and protest about things. No country is perfect. That's how a healthy society should be. But, my goodness, when I look at what's going on in the US and UK and the idiots available to choose from for top-dog positions, I'll never dream of leaving where I am. That may explain the discrepancy between the figures for Germany and the perceived reality for many: no, things are definitely troubling and people are going to make themselves heard before things get totally out of hand, but it's all still a damn-side better than most other places.
Exactly! That is what many people fail to appreciate. Even in the latest polls from 2024 which show that trust has dipped in Germany there is always the caveat that things much better compare to other neighbouring countries…
If you *agree* with Germany's relatively liberal immigration policy, than you are more likely to have confidence in the government. But, if you don't, then you don't have trust. Based upon how people have voted *most* Germans agree with sensible immigration that is a net benefit to Germany. The anti-immigration sentiment is quite vocal, but in the minority.
Thoughtful and interesting video - as always here. The UK has had 14 years of mostly incompetent government - combined with it often doing the opposite of what it said it would do. The UK has been plagued by corruption scandals such as those where well-connected wealthy people made huge profits from the sale of PPE. Nothing has been done about it. The brexit debacle caused huge damage to political life in the UK. The lies and deceit, and the disgusting behaviour of our politicians towards the EU, European leaders and the peoples of the EU has left me and others feeling angry and deeply ashamed. In one respect the UK will soon turn a corner when the Conservatives are punished at the general election. Many of us expect little from Starmer's Labour, but watching the Conservatives being destroyed at the ballot box will be gratifying in itself. Most of the UK now regrets Brexit. A minority passionately wish to join the EU again. Others have understood how incredibly difficult this would be and how long it would take. And of course many in Europe now dislike us more than they did already. Who can blame them? The Conservatives are focused on making life for the incoming Labour government as difficult as possible. Salting the ground. No real effort is made to campaign. Labour leader Starmer will try to restore relations with the EU and member countries. But only very minor improvement is possible in terms of the fundamentals. Given that a return to the EU is ruled out for a few decades at least, the only option for the UK now is stronger connections with the US and the Anglosphere. This will take us further away from the EU. That's my opinion!
What highlighted the Tories not being at all incompetent was the accuracy and consistency of their flubbing, as even the broken clock is correct twice daily. I would say they were competently incompetent, which is a whole other story.
The mood in Germany was bad in the early 2000s because unemployment was high, Germany was considered “the sick man of Europe” and the CDU, which ruled for 16 years, could not find a recipe to change that. The CDU/FDP government with Chancellor Kohl was voted out. The further course: The new SPD chancellor in a red-green government also initially had difficulties. There was the Yugoslavian war (NATO intervened, including German soldiers), with which the pacifist Greens had intra-party clashes. There were also internal disputes between the Chancellor and the Finance Minister (and SPD leader), who later became leader of another party (die Linke). Finally, the ruling SPD/Greens managed to turn the tide, the economy recovered, but the government was voted out and the success of the policy unfairly went to the CDU, which then ruled again for 16 years. But Germany under Chancellor Merkel actually lived from the reforms under Chancellor Schröder (SPD), cheap Russian gas and dependence on the Chinese market. There was a lack of investment, e.g. in infrastructure. A lack of immigration policy that brings workers to Germany that are needed. Given the increasingly protectionist policies of China and the US, this can no longer work, but the CDU again found no answers and was voted out.There are rumors that Germany is once again "the sick man of Europe". Now the SPD is ruling again with the Greens and FDP. Reforms have been introduced, but it will take some time for them to have an impact. And there is war again in Europe.- The SPD and the Greens are very bad at selling their actual successes (increase in the minimum wage, massive expansion of renewable energies, investments in AI and future technologies, Germany ticket, higher defense budget of 2%, faster naturalization of foreign citizens, possibility of a double passport etc).- Germans like to complain, but compared to the British, the Germans are doing well financially. Salaries rise while in Britain they stagnate or are eaten up by inflation. The state also doesn't have massive debts like the UK. - Nevertheless, voters are impatient and susceptible to populist slogans. I estimate that the AfD will gain votes, so that the traffic light government gets too few votes and a new government will consist of CDU/SPD.
Unemployment was the important cause for discontents back in 2006. Double citizenship and easier naturalization are not things that the indigenous Germans really want. Neither mass migration of antisemitic islamists contempting our freedom, women and queer people. The new figures after the disastrous politics of the recent government including the heating laws will be worse than the results of 2022. I am quite sure.
There is a real obsession here in Germany with Islamophobia. In the UK it's on the rise, but I don't understand why the levels are so high in Germany. There's lots of great anti AfD protests, but this anti racism position does not seem to apply to Islamophobia. It really has surprised me and I think it's a real shame. The shockingly poor way that the mainstream German media has covered the genocide in Gaza I believe is partly symptomatic of this Islamophobia. In the UK, coverage has been largely poor but there finally has been a changing tone, but in Germany it's been incredibly disappointing. Aside from this, things in Germany seem to be functioning pretty well compared to the UK. From a Brit living in Germany.
@@ohnihsi Actually, I experience racism very strongly in the UK and not in Germany. And I don't know what kind of media you follow in Germany or the UK, and I can't share your opinion either.
I think that despite Blair and WMD and Sadam Hussein, the UK still had functioning services such as the NHS back in the late 90s and early 2000s. This meant there was still some support for the government. Now people have seen and experienced the effects of austerity and the negative economic effects of Brexit they are far less supportive of the current government.
Prosperity could only occur if we cling onto the unelected EU commission, what a depressing vision. What we have is a government wishing to still be part of the EU, so they refuse to embrace opportunities outside the EU. They are also so used to taking instruction from the commission they are unable to think for themselves.
@@AJ-hi9fd do you realise that leaving the EU took between 4 and 6% of UK GDP despite the so called world beating trade deals with Australia etc. Either way you look at it, the UK is isolated a still has to obey other people´s rules if they wish to trade with them. As they found with the Australia trade deal where Australia got the upper hand and can now dump lamb on us and ruin out own farming. Crazy!
@@britingermanyI can give you a list of annoyances. From 2005, the majority of England voted conservative and most of the seats went to Labour. Our banks gambled away all our money. We had too bail them out while the bankers carried on making millions. Our taxes are still paying for it now. The cost of living has increased while our wages have remained stagnant. The average person has been completely f**ked over by big business and government since 2008!! Our councils are bankrupt, our public services do not work and no one wants to work!!
Unfortunately it only needs a pandemic/an economic crisis and the handling of both and " politicians " like Trump and Johnson to lose said confidence. It will take a lot of effort and time for politicians in both countries to regain that trust again.
In the UK we need proportional representation and laws against misleading information from political parties + tighter control on social media campaigns . The public need to be better informed and better represented. I would also like MPs to be paid more and a ban on them taking on others jobs while they are a sitting MP.
I think this pendulum swings very very slowly ... the US and UK are far from regaining any trust, Trump and BREXIT managed to deal so much damage, it will take decades to undo ... the German gov is also fumbling a lot, but at least they usually manage to either course correct or the next election will force new coalitions, which is enabling change more easily than in entrenched two party systems.
Except that Germany has long ago moved past that. It even showed the way in how to "level up" a part of the country that had been laid waste to by 45 years of communism. Ironically, the North of England is as far behind London and the South-East as the DDR was behind West Germany. It didn't take 45 years of communism, just 35 years of willful destruction followed by studious neglect from successive British governments.
Indeed. It took Germany quite some time to recover but they made it. It will take the UK quite some time to recover but it is doubtful they will make it unscathed.
Germans are not docile -- they just have proportional representation, which forces coalitions, which in turn prevents political extremism -- at least for now (and a 5% hurdle to keep the nutjobs out of parliament), It's not perfect but it seems to be fit for purpose until someone comes up with something better. Winner takes it all has never been a good idea. Politics is good if it's boring.
Trust in the government plummeting is most certainly a positive thing. Particularly when it’s so well deserved. Its Germany who have the biggest problem here
One large reason for the fall in confidence in both the US and the UK has been that in both countries, the right wing has used an on-going barrage of criticism and attacks upon the very idea of government. As the right has gained a foothold, forcing reductions in social spending, etc., the right is able to then hold up the resultant decrease in services as 'yet another sign of government dysfunction'. And, thus, the cycle begins anew. Of course, it also helps that very, very few people (certainly in the US and, as far as I can tell, also in the UK) have been taught how to look at one's history and apply that knowledge to current events ("Those who do not know history....), whether that be in social discussions or in outright political settings. The entire 'immigration question' has been a result of not knowing, much less acknowledging, the generally positive role that immigrants have paid in the distant AND recent history in the US, the UK, and in the BRD (and, one could easy add, the whole world). And, as others have pointed out, the hyperbolic use of adjectives in the media has fed into this.
If something is not ok in Germany you can see it. :-) In other countries there is such s mess you can't see if there is an additional mess. If there is some litter on the street, where I live, I have the idea the street is absolutely dirty and messy. Because of a single "Mc Donald " box or such kind...
It's interesting that you frame Johnson's and Trump's elections as causes rather than symptoms. They might have been catalysts than led foreigners to sit up and take notice, but I would tend to see them (and Brexit, with Johnson's populism to some extent being just a vehicle for that sentiment) as having the commonality that voters weren't so much voting _for_ them in a positive way, but voting for them as a vote _against_ some status quo that Brexit-Johnson/Trump were themselves railing against. Which means that for whatever reason, the electorate were already disillusioned. The elections did of course broadcast that disillusionment to people in other countries who hadn't fully noticed it yet, but that's perhaps more just a case of foreign assessments on UK/US political status quos catching up with native assessments in terms of electorate contentment/desires for radicalism.
I think it is a bit of both…although it’s important to note that Boris was not elected. I think people are not happy and do yes Trump was maybe more of a protest vote than anything else
You can't really trust any polling that comes out of Russia. You're obviously going to say you trust the government when they would chuck you in jail for criticism of the government.
Brexit, Farage, Johnson, Truss... These factors all really seem un-British to me. But I think especially Brexit and how long it took to come to some sort of agreement was really bad for the country. The referendum was all the way back in 2016 and only last year Sunak created the "Windsor Framework" agreement, basically incorporating the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland in to a long term solution. Thats a long time to live in uncertainty. And particulary investors really dont like political unstable situations like that. I mean, how can you invest in a country that clearly has no idea themselves how they are going to move forward, on which terms they are going to trade with the EU and all that. That constant back and forth, the many U-turns, 5 different PM's in only 8 years... Just imagine the UK as your girlfriend... You wouldnt trust her if she acted like that and you most certainly would want to avoid any long-term commitments with that sort of behaviour.
Indeed. And the instability isn't over yet. Import checks still haven't been implemented, euroclearing will be lost in 2025 and the planned review of the TCA doesn't look very promising. The UK still hasn't fully implemented all provisions of the TCA and if this situation continues, the EU might suspend the TCA. Let's hope Starmer hits the ground running and will be able to avoid such unfortunate action.
@@artrandy At least Germany has a functioning government. Boring and stable, I like it. Plus state services are a lot better. Take the Germany Transportation ticket for example, 49 Euro for an entire month in the entire country? Free university? Brits could only dream of that. The country is just better run, its day and night really.
@@ageoflove1980 I'd swap all on your list for a functioning democracy, with no threat to its existence by minority parties, as per the last 280 odd years in the UK. BTW, who actually voted for Ms Merkle, Putin's best friend? Her last period as Chancellor seemed to be without a mandate from the people. Merkle's NordStream agreement with Putin, put so much money into the Russian coffers, it made the war in Ukraine possible. Nordstream is Europe's most fatal foreign policy since WW2. Thanks Germany.........
polling should be viewed in context with current problems. back in 2006, big changes in German welfare law had been introduced and it upset a lot of people. it felt unjust, the government out-of-touch and the recently formed new government held 80% of the votes in parliament. the voters in 2022 lived in a different world. Covid was petering out and in many places (especially in the US/UK) people talked about government overreach. the antics of Boris Johnson and his toxic government coupled with very clear signs of Brexit being a complete economic disaster may have led many people to distrust their government. additionally, voters both in the UK and US might increasingly feel like their voting systems is failing them. FPTP is producing volatile/erratic results and the bipartisan nature of US politics coupled with massive voter discrimination and archaic rules in the constitution (electoral college etc) have the potential to produce very undemocratic results. voters feel disenfranchised. this feeling isn't that prominent in PR systems like Germany.
Yes that is what I meant. Although I would like to correct that slightly - and that is that the international perception of these countries has improved with these new leaders - but the domestic population not so much.
You mentioned confidence in government and/or the face of the leader. For the US, the leader(s) represents the the people, and he acts like the people. And vise versa, looking at the leaders, you will know how the citizens and society act. There is no one more "proper" than the other on any side. And that is where we have the problem. We do not have someone that is the voice of reason or that will bring this nation together.
That’s a good point and I think an interesting indicator to keep in mind. Some studies have found that people who loudly condemn the afd secretly vote for them…that’s why shutting down discussions never works
Definitely fascinating! I just hope that here in Germany things are not going to go down, as rapidly - but stay on a level. It all will depend on how the economy develops. If we do a slow but steady recovery, I think there is a chance that things are not going down the drain completely (public opinion wise, I mean) Edit: Do you think one reason for the differences between Germany vs Britain and US lies partly in the differences in the voting systems? I certainly believe this is part of it.
What should we recover from ? There was a little chaos in price levels, due to war and inflation, it is so recent, was just for 2 years, no recession happened, that's not a big something.
If you have many people saying "don't trust the governement" it's becoming a self-fullfilling prophecy. It is very hard to gain trust, but very easy to destroy by just anybody. Even by you. People who trust the governement, and reading your "many don't trust", start thinkging "maybe I'm wrong".
Those are pretty dramatic statements and where are the false comparisons? Think tanks and research groups are tasked with comparing countries. There will always be differences and exceptions that’s what makes it interesting.
I am surprised that the level of acceptance in Germany is so high. What I keep hearing among friends and family is - arbitrarily collecting - severe disappointment in our chancellor who fails to make himself visible at actually leading. The foreign minister receives the typical sexist accusation that an attractive lady often may receive, as being a fraud, and making too many oops-type mistakes. The economics minister, who managed the gas crisis quite successfully, still is accused of being unprofessional because his attempt at a heating reform was indeed unprofessional - I concede that this was caused by the lack of time left to do it properly with that gas stuff. And it promised to severely affect the pockets of the people, particularly home owners. Maybe the rise of the AfD provoked some counter-reaction of government solidarity against those among the others. Still, they will probably switch over to the CDU/CSU next year, which could well make the situation worse.
We will see. Just on a personal note my experience has been that people enjoy complaining in Germany but if you actually have the option to make some changes a lot of people don’t take them…marking changes involves uncertainty and it’s not easy
I would agree that the government isn't particularly good at explaining their policy. However it seems that they're taking a comparatively cautious approach to addressing issues and events. Possibly Germans are appreciating that more than they like to admit.
Have to disagree with the speaker's view on the mode of protest of the French population. In my view its correctly and appropriately aimed and timed. Only when the permanent officials get the sweet smell of success every time they open the windows, will the message be appreciated. "After you Claude" clearly doesn't work nowdays, either over there or in the UK😂
I think it comes to the character the different national societies have developed and whom they embody since decades/centuries! Yes, we germans are a VERY collectivist society if it comes to politics, but since WW2 at least, we question our past unlike the UK and the US, where liberalism and great empires turned into national irrational pride (e.g. see which arguments an english football-fan brings, if the national teams looses to the german one). But besides that the political&societal systems(centralist; 2nd amendment; 2-Party-system, aso) as well as self-portaits as being part of the great, old country , which both are at least still partly rooted in society , that were developed during the golden times get cracks now and yet, neither politicians nor the society as a whole changed it! And many citizens are disappointed by these arguments, populists like Boris Johnson or Donald Trump recycle! Greetings from Germany :)
Trust and Satisfaction are two different pairs of shoes, though closely related to each other. First of all, you need trust into the framework of state and institutions, the legitimation of them. Satisfaction with their work is something else; and in a functioning democracy satisfaction can be expressed in votes and demonstrations. All this will highly be influenced by your daily dose of information. You can talk a cat dead or exagerate up to 9 lives. So, trust also has something to do with " make believe ". Thank God, in Germany we have federal broadcast, not a guarantee for unbiased reports, but at least keeping the chance for the truth. However, reducing everything to click bites will quickly lead to brainwashing. As soon as emotions take over rational evaluations, the sooner such clowns as Trump and Johnson will gain their chances. Btw, every parliament represents the people in their environments. So, somehow they reflect the average mentality of the electorate. 😜
There might be several dimensions to this ... one is the actual discontent or confidence of the people, which depends on their personal situation ... then there is the ways how/why they do or don't express that discontent (the whole bandwidth), many remain private discussions, and only when it is beyond some threshold, it may grow into public protest (which is in most cases futile symbolism IMHO) ... and finally there is the media that of course report riots in big letters ("bad news are good news"), rather than any systematic issues that are very difficult to solve, often because they have always been that way. I would also make a distinction between distrust and "counter-trust". I would have a lot of distrust for any institution, just because of that, and institutions should always be tested by reality checks. But saying "I do not believe X" should not mean "I believe -X", the opposite of X. That is the major problem with all those who call any media "fake" regardless of the contents. When that discussion is "cancelled" by people trapped into -X ("counter-beliefs" of X), then I consider that as a danger. I question EVERY belief, even if it may annoy somebody. You may guess I am not into any religion either.
I think that is a big issue which you raised. People keeping their opinions private so as not to rock the boat. It’s a difficult one and I think an issue which the US is confronting on a large scale
@@britingermanyKeeping shut up when the "situation" requires it was quite essential during a "very special" period of German history: one wrong word to the wrong ear and Gestapo would catch You. So even if You were not particularly Nazi, people would live in fear not to be "aligned" - the same story of all dictatorships to this day. Nobody trusted anyone. My grandparents went through those times and the few times when they told me about it, it was like they were just about lucky to have survived that madness - by keeping shut up. And this continued after WW II as well for 1-2 generations, until the 1970s when a new generation asked very painful questions ...
Interesting to see what sort of kickback there'll be against this latest move by the UK government, then: a report in today's Guardian (28/04/24) on the launch of a round-up of asylum seekers prior to incarceration & mass deportation, all in the belief that it will win back votes for the Conservative government in the upcoming local elections. Whatever that reminds you of, it may well achieve some success, given the gullibility and political apathy of the electorate. "The Home Office will launch a surprise operation to detain asylum seekers across the UK on Monday in preparation for deportation to Rwanda, weeks earlier than expected, the Guardian understands. Officials plan to hold refugees who turn up for routine meetings at immigration service offices and will also pick people up nationwide in a two-week exercise.They will be immediately transferred to detention centres, which have already been prepared for the operation, and held to be put on later flights to Rwanda. Others identified for these flights are already being held.It is thought the launch of the operation has been timed to coincide with Thursday’s local council elections in England, to boost Rishi Sunak’s claims he is cracking down on illegal migration."
Probably not much kickback at all. A minority will be outraged but most won't care and some will be pleased. Of course Sunak is just whipping up the worst kind of emotions and seeking to gain from it but I think most people are taking little notice now. Just waiting for the election.
Ignore the World Economic Forum and concentrate on the Punch and Judy show of domestic politics. This policy has been embraced by even the brightest and demonstrates the effectiveness of conditioning on most of the population. Find a rabbit hole and go down it if you really want to understand what is going on. Find out how our currencies are created and why this is done and you may be on the road to enlightenment.
I would have never thought, especially since the migrant crisis and the Covid measures after that. And this new coalition government isn't very popular, especially since they tried to introduce like the heat pump for which house owners should pay thousands and all that stuff. I think most people want them out actually. The support for anti-government parties like the AFD has risen in recent months. But also the CDU has gained more support again recently and even new parties like that from Sahra Wagenknecht have been formed. So I don't really get where these polls are coming from. But yeah, the divide in the US is very strong and the situation in the UK is really turbulent in recent years. I get that.
Yes indeed. I think when things get hard financially then people tend to lean towards parties like the AFD. They feel let down by other parties who are not speaking to them in a language they understand so I get that it’s on the rise in Germany
No, 'turbulent' is not an accurate description at all. If only it were ... The problem here is that people here (a) show an astoundingly low level of political interest/understanding/engagement, and (b) have no tradition of revolution. So they just grumble and suffer, rather than going out on the streets to demonstrate, as happens for instance in France. With an upcoming general election we'll see how far the undeniably widespread dissatisfaction with a government that would find approval with the AfD actually translates into votes of rejection. All it takes is a few bribes and vast swathes of the electorate suddenly succumb to amnesia ...
they did not try to put heat pumps in all the houses though. That was a leak from the FDP to shoot their own government in the foot. The law states you can still buy gas heating but the gas will end up costing you more and more due to worldwide carbon reduction targets. You can also have your gas boilers repaired and only after 30 years and no possible repair available do you need a heat pump.
well that is easy to answer, in us and uk - people still know what is freedom, which includes Freedom to think. Germans by nature and tradition are more regimented, so they still prefer to trust their Govt.
Interesting points…I’ve always seen consensus in Germany as being regimented peer to peer not top down. It’s why some people find the culture uncomfortable because they feel like they are being monitored by their neighbours. Peer to peer social enforcement of rules is generally more effective and harder to change
There's different kinds of trust. Do you trust the abilities of the government, it's competence, it's intentions? I for example, on the whole, trust that the Finnish political sector isn't just plainly out for itself so I still trust it's intentions more than I distrust them, but I highly distrust its abilities and especially its competence. A default wholesale distrust on the whole political system and everything in it might be warranted, but it also might not. If many things in a country are set in a way which people in said country like, then it can't all be bad?
Gen z only make up ⅕ of the population and the press confidence table only accounts for 23 countries, with the outliers in high confidence notably being from known oppressive regiemes where those surveyed might have been reluctant to answer openly (china, iran, phillipines). The bulk of the rest were around the same mark, though the uk remains one of the lowest. It is still not really a like for like comparison as there are many factors that could influence the result. The same kings college report also noted that the UK's confidence in democracy has risen though as mentioned here, confidence with institutions has dropped. This analysis is not necessarily a helpful overview of the state of affairs in the uk, especially when comparing to other nations with different organisational structures, cultures, legal and social principals. A better assessment would be a long yerm historical comparison of the country against its past, and then compare those developments with similar long term comparisons of other nations against their past results. Thia way trends might be identified that could offer a sound and more useful basis for predicting future outcomes.
Sure. I believe there are quite a few books out there about economic cycles - like the fourth turning and Ra Dalio’s takes on how civilisations rise and fall…maybe I’ll go dive into that at some point on the future. Politics and opinions tend to swing left and right in cycles so I also don’t know how useful it is. I just thought it was important to not the current situation before moving on
I would put the media factor in, US and UK is and was a mess (not only to Murdoch). In both countries where you get your news from. For Germany it's Axel-Springer press, ie Bild-Zeitung Not informing unbiased at all, rather campaigning like instigator, overreact, false equivalences. All good, oh no, there are issues. Name the ideal bigger country you would rather live in. It should have sort of comparable size, so no Lichtenstein or scandinavian countries.
Regarding the political system: In Germany we have a special party (AfD) where extreme right-wingers can gather, and hopefully not getting more than 50 percent of the vote. No other party wants to have a coalition with the AfD. In the UK and the US, there is no such party, so their extreme right-wingers become president or prime minister. This could have caused the majority the British and the Americans to be fed up with their prime minister or president, and hence parliament. Regarding the other areas of public life: The rich get richer and richer, the poor get poorer and poorer, and the middle class erodes, in Germany as well as in Britain and the USA
I think what you mean is that the political structure in Germany (proportional representation) makes it harder for one person or one party to take over?
The autumn elections in the eastern part of Germany will reveal how stable Germany’s democracy really is. Der Umgangston ist rauer geworden. I often use public transport and come across downright rude and xenophobic remarks. My fellow country people often remain silent and refrain from getting involved. That s what I really fear. AfD and Werteunion are popular not only with ‘old Nazis’ but also with young Germans. To quote H.Heine: “ Denk ich an Deutschland in der Nacht, dann bin ich um den Schlaf gebracht”. Let’s hope I’m utterly wrong.
@@gargoyle7863 Why, to please 30% stupid people and to do the opposite of what 70% of people want ? That's the AfD narration. You enforce populism over democracy.
Klar, in Frankfurt z.B. ist doch gar nicht zu erkennen wer ihr fellow country man ist. :-) Die dort "deutsch" aussehen sind vielleicht Ukrainer, Spanier (es gibt Spanier die aussehen wie Schweden, kein Witz) oder und Orientalen sind hier geboren. Vielleicht sagt auch blauäugiger Türkischstämmiger " Schei*** Ausländer, ... . An meiner Uni sagten vor 40 Jahren schon Türkischstämmige zu Araber... sch*** , ... . Ich persönlich bin nun die blonde deutsch Bestie... ähm ... nein... Ich muss mir nur den Bart stehen lassen, dann kann ich in Persien untertauchen. Even loads of Dutch ancestors.... ok, I am tall.... ha, ha,...
People are well behaved at protests in Germany?😂 Oh dear god I don’t want to know how it is in other countries. I remember at the beginning of 2020 the protests of anti vaxxers and Corona deniers.😅 Never in my life did I think we had so many lunatics in our country.
That's the intension of a demonstration. 100.000 People go on the street, you think it's many, and don't reallize it's (only) about 1% of population. Why we don't think we have many christian fanatics ? Cause they are not often out on the street, they are bad in public relations.
@@britingermany I'm saying Germany is in it's worst condition since world war 2. Both economically and socially. It has been on a slow but steady downfall during Merkel and is now on a steep nosedive during Scholz or more notably Habeck and Baerbock.
Well, you and I must live in different Germanies, at least the least three years 😂. I have no faith and trust into our current government whatsoever, and more and more other Germans are fed up with our current three party coalition either as current polls show. Especially our chancellor lost approval dramatically.
Please keep in mind that you have little to no information about your commentators so far. Right wing commentators dominate certain areas of the internet and put much effort in attacking the government and immigrants. Germans haven't grown accustomed to discussing political issues on the internet , even when there's no language barrier (there is sort of a hesitation to speak in public Germans have even in their own language). Anyway: The image you get from comments is skewed.
a gaspipeline owned by the russian state aligned gasprom that was not even used at the time due to sanktions..... who cares....and btw this was beaten dead in the "news" for MONTHS on end with one consopiracy theory after the other....i truely dont know what rock you live under to come to the comment "nobody says anything"...it was friggin BORING simply becasue it does not matter....the project was dead the first russian soldier crossed the ukrain border....nobody believes ina arussian withdrawle within time where we could salavage that pipeline or retunr using it.....
I was amazed when Boris admitted that Ukraine is a proxy war to maintain Western hegemony. People have been saying I am a conspiracy theorist because I said this from the start. He said the quiet bit out loud.
Does not make sense at all, in fact exact the opposite. India and possibly China are the bigest beneficiaries of the war at the expense of the West, as they obtained unlimited access to cheaper mineral resources, which they are even allowed to launder to the West at fantastic profit. I also understand that China is one of the largest owners of land in east european country under attack, and it multiplied in value as unfettered access to the EU was granted (under the pretext that the routs to middle east and africa closed). And so on.
You sound like "If two people are saying it (you and Boris), it must be true". That's far away from any conclusive logic. So any help from the western world to a single country, is making something a proxy war ?
Posting on the occasion of the UK's latest change of prime minister: I think the fact that they've gone through so many in such a short period of time is especially egregious because the electoral system is supposedly designed to favour stability. It's supposed to create strong government majorities, at the expense of distorting the will of the voters. If it doesn't do either anymore -- if the distribution of seats in parliament bears no resemblance to the share of votes _and_ the resulting government is fickle and unstable -- it's fair to say that something has gone badly wrong.
How much do we pay attention to these studies/polls ? I remember several occasions the IMF said Britain would tank for not joining the Euro and Brexit would destroy us. Confidence in Germany and its peoples trust in their government really doesn’t say much as Germany rarely if ever deviates from its standard post war behaviour. I agree our current political situation is crap because we have political parties completely out of touch with the issues that ordinary people like me are concerned about. I think too much attention is paid to the marches in London and the political observers think that the support Palestine people speaks for us all which it certainly doesn’t . A vocal minority who live in the London area seem to dictate to the rest of the country on what issues they care about, It’s a mistake to believe this.
I don’t think we should pay too much attention took to them. It’s one i fixation of how things are but as you point out, it’s very easy to to show verbal support for a cause. It’s much harder to actually turn that into action. Usually things have to get really bad before they can get better
