US President Donald Trump's efforts to reshape international relations, particularly in Europe, are repelling America's long-standing, traditionally loyal partners, a new poll by Brussels-based Politika has found.
The poll, the results of which were released today, ahead of the Munich Security Conference that begins tomorrow, indicates that the erosion of the US's reputation raises new questions about the stability of the decades-old global order and the country's strength on the world stage.
According to the survey, far more people in Canada, the UK, France and Germany described Trump as an unreliable ally than as a reliable one, including half of respondents in Germany and 57 percent in Canada. In France, the number of those who called the US an unreliable ally was more than twice as high as those who saw it as reliable.
The credibility of the US is highest in Britain, compared to other countries surveyed. However, in the UK, there are slightly more people who see the US as an unreliable than a reliable ally - 39 percent to 35 percent.
One of the questions was about American military power, and a majority of respondents in France and Germany said they did not believe that enemies would be afraid to attack them because of their relationship with the US.
Also, in just one year, the number of Britons who see the US as an effective means of deterring enemy attacks has decreased by ten percent, writes Politico.
An online survey conducted by the independent London-based agency Public First also found that trust in the US among four key NATO allies has declined significantly in recent years following a series of disputes with Washington.
Starting with US Vice President J.D. Vance's speech at last year's Munich conference, which shocked his European hosts, relations between Washington and key NATO allies have been shaken by trade disputes, aggressive rhetoric and Trump's push to take Greenland from Denmark.
The crises have prompted leaders to warn that relations with the US have fundamentally changed, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told a gathering in Davos in January that "we are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition" of the relationship.
French President Emmanuel Macron has criticized "threats and intimidation" from Washington in several recent interviews, warning EU leaders that transatlantic relations are unlikely to "return to normal" anytime soon.
Vance was greeted with boos at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Milan last Friday, which European diplomacy chief Kaia Kalas explained as "European pride" and a response to the US administration's "not-so-nice words" towards Europe.
Public First's head of research, Seb Wride, recalled that last year the European public considered the US to be an unreliable but key ally that deters enemies, albeit somewhat unpredictable.
"Now, however, the transatlantic deterrence that is offered is no longer taken for granted and the European public finds it hard to believe that it even exists. The main question now for leaders heading to the Munich Security Conference is how security can be recreated without the US," Ride told Politico.
The survey also showed that in four European countries the share of respondents who do not think the US shares their values or protects democracy is growing.
In France, only 17 percent of respondents agree that "the US shares our values," while 49 percent disagree. In Germany, exactly half of respondents think the US does not share their values, and only 18 percent say Washington protects democracy.
However, respondents expressed some hope for the future, and in Germany, France and the UK, a majority said that Trump had weakened relations with their countries but that they could recover after his departure.
The survey was conducted between February 6 and 9 and included at least 2.000 people each in Canada, Britain, France and Germany. Including the US survey, there were more than 10.000 respondents.
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