Good friends

Germany's US ambassador Klaus Scharioth said he was "more than happy" with the results of a new survey presented on Monday evening in Washington DC. The survey showed "the Americans' thoroughly positive view of our country," Scharioth said.

The survey, commissioned by the German Embassy, found that 48 percent of US citizens asked had an 'excellent' or 'good' general impression of Germany, while 41 percent believed that Germany and the US enjoyed 'excellent' or 'good' relations with one another. These are the most positive results since the regular survey was first carried out in 2002.

The last time this popularity survey was undertaken in October 2008, only 43 percent of Americans had a positive view of Germany, and only 34 percent thought the USA had good relations with Germany.

Most US citizens connect Germany with technology, art and culture, the results concluded. 48 percent thought of Germany as a high-tech country, while 44 percent believed that Germany boasted a lively art and culture scene.

Student love

Scharioth drew particular encouragement from the fact that US students had an especially positive view of Germany. As many as 46 percent of college students saw Germany as a leading country on a host of environmental issues, from renewable energy, to energy efficiency, to environmental protection laws. This was significantly above the average opinion among the US population, only 29 percent of whom thought of Germany as an environmental leader.

But while Germany's popularity in the US may be gradually increasing, its standing in the world is apparently on the decline. Only 43 percent of Americans believe that Germany still plays an important role in international politics, down from 49 percent in 2004. Only around 25 percent of Americans believe that Germany contributes significantly to the global fight against terrorism, and 47 percent think that Germany should be doing more.

Not important, but good brewers

Germany is also losing ground as one of the USA's most important international partners. The survey found that Americans think of Canada, Britain, Japan and China as more important allies, whose actions affect US policy more significantly.

But there is one area in which Germany still stands out in the American psyche. When asked what aspect of the country they would like to learn more about, the most common answer was not culture, art or sports, but beer.

bk/dpa/AFP
Editor: Rob Turner