War may be engulfing Syria, Iraq and Ukraine, but what worries Germans most is that a eurozone nation will want a bailout, according to pollsters who take the pulse of German “angst” every year.
R+V Infocenter, a research bureau operated by an insurance company, said Thursday Germans are more relaxed than they have been for years.
Only four fears have the power to excite apprehension in more than half the population: bailouts (60 per cent), inflation (58), natural disasters (51) and becoming a basket case in old age (51).
Germany getting involved in a war figured far lower in the scale of worries, perturbing only 36 per cent. The survey was conducted in July, when most Germans were thinking of their summer vacations, not the world’s troubles.
“What a majority of Germans do fear is that the eurozone crisis will end up in a huge bill for the taxpayer or that the cost of living will go up,” said Rita Jakli, head of the R+V Infocenter.
Fears of recession have fallen to just 41 per cent, while fear of unemployment has slumped to 33 per cent. Overall, worry predominated in the outlook of only 39 per cent of Germans, the lowest level in 20 years. Optimism prevailed among the rest.
The pollsters questioned 2,400 people aged 14 and above for the annual survey, which regularly provokes soul searching about whether “angst” – the ordinary German word for fear – is an integral part of the national psyche or not.
GNA
PDC
