Les Européens (dont les Espagnols) et nos “amis américains”

L’enquête globale du PEW Center sur l’image de l’Amérique, la façon dont l’Amérique est perçue, etc., donne cette année encore l’habituel résultat catastrophique.

Un point intéressant est tout de même l’évolution de plus en plus défavorable aux USA de l’opinion européenne. Il va devenir de plus en plus difficile pour les dirigeants et les institutions européennes de continuer à suivre leur politique d’alignement sur les USA en continuant à proclamer bruyamment tout le bien qu’ils pensent plus ou moins de leurs “grands alliés américains”.

Voici, de nos sources internes, un résumé des résultats de l’enquête dans ce domaine des positions européennes. L’accent est mis notamment sur l’extraordinaire évolution de l’Espagne par rapport aux USA.

« European increasingly mistrustful of U.S. despite some shared threats.The ugly American lives, at least in the hearts of many Europeans. And apparently, he's getting uglier. Deep disagreements over the war in Iraq have pushed America's image in Europe to new lows. Fewer than one in four Spaniards having something positive to say about the United States, and sentiment is falling in regional powers such as France, Germany and Russia as well. Even in Britain, 60 percent of respondents said the war in Iraq has made the world less safe, about double the number that said it was good for security. In fact, more Britons listed the war as a threat to world peace (41 percent) than said the same thing about Iran (34 percent). But by far the most striking decline in European sentiment was in Spain, where just 23 percent of respondents had a favorable opinion of the United States, down from 41 percent in 2005.

» U.S. less populair in Spain than in Pakistan. The new figure makes America less popular in the land of bullfighting and sangria than in ultraconservative Pakistan, and in other Muslim countries such as Egypt and Indonesia. There's more bad news for the droves of U.S. college students and tourists who flock here each year: Spaniards don't have much patience for Americans themselves, with just 37 percent saying they have a favorable opinion of U.S. citizens — down from 55 percent a year ago. And what of President Bush? Support among Spaniards has dropped to just 7 percent. That is the worst in Europe, though the U.S. leader isn't exactly tearing it up elsewhere. Approval for his international leadership comes in at 15 percent in France, 21 percent in Russia, 25 percent in Germany and a European-best, but still-anemic 30 percent in Britain. Favorable opinion of the United States dropped virtually across the board in Europe with just 37 percent of Germans, 39 percent of French and 43 percent of Russians giving Washington positive marks. All had higher totals a year ago. Only in Britain were feelings largely warm toward Washington, with 56 percent voicing support for the United States, 1 percentage point better than in 2005. In Turkey, a key NATO ally whose moderate Muslim population is often seen as a bridge between West and East, just 12 percent held a favorable opinion of the United States, the lowest figure in the 14 foreign nations surveyed. Support for the war on terror has also waned, with less than one in five Spaniards in favor, compared with 76 percent who say they are opposed. The numbers are slightly better elsewhere in Europe — with Britain, France and Germany all in the 40s — but are still lower than a year ago. The results come despite general agreements between Americans and Europeans over several of the main threats in the world today, with near unanimity among Americans and Europeans that Iran should not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons, and concern on both sides of the Atlantic over the victory of Hamas militants in Palestinian elections. The survey results were drawn from more than 17,000 interviews conducted from March 31 to May 14 in the United States and 14 other nations. The margin of error ranged from 2-6 percent, depending on the country. »

Mis en ligne le 15 juin 2006 à 09H11