70% of Germans don’t believe army can protect the country – YouGov poll

Most oppose higher taxes or spending cuts to fund military expansion, a survey finds The majority of Germans do not believe their armed forces are capable of protecting the country, a recent YouGov survey has found.According to the International Flagship Survey published on Friday, 70% of respondents in Germany said they were not confident their armed forces were strong enough to fend off a potential attack. YouGov surveyed 2,079 adults across Germany between June 17 and July 1.Although 40% of respondents said Germany spends too little on defense, 77% opposed higher taxes to fund defense spending, while 62% rejected cuts to public services and 59% opposed increased government borrowing.Germany recorded the lowest level of confidence among the seven countries covered by the poll. Some 57% of respondents in Poland, 53% in both Britain and Australia, and 48% in Canada also doubted their armed forces’ ability to protect the country. By comparison, 52% of French respondents and 77% of Americans expressed confidence in their militaries. The poll comes as US President Donald Trump has renewed threats to withdraw from NATO after its members declined to join the US-Israeli military campaign...