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According to the annual Transatlantic Trends report, European countries are more supportive of US foreign policy under Barack Obama than they were of the George W Bush administration's policies. Poland, a strong US ally in recent years, did not show the same immense growth of support as other European countries, however.
“Poland was the least supportive country in Europe of President Obama's foreign policy, with only 55 percent of participants having a favorable view,” the report read. The number still marks an 11 percent increase in Polish support since 2008, when President Bush was in office. Yet at that time the figure placed Poland among the staunchest supporters of the Bush administration.
The 2009 report showed that 92 percent of Germans and 91 percent of Italians approved of Mr Obama's policies.
Polish annoyance
The low level of support for the Obama administration can be explained by Poles' dissatisfaction with the way their country's current role in US foreign policy.
The ongoing uncertainty regarding the US missile shield deal is one example. Another the US's decision to send General James Jones, the US national security advisor, as its representative to the September 1 events commemorating the 70th anniversary of the start of WWII. Earlier the country had planned to send a Clinton-era former defense secretary to the event, which was attended by a number of major European politicians. Both choices causing an uproar in Poland.
“If Americans continue to act this way, Poland may become another France, with a rising anti-American sentiment towards the [US],” professor Bohdan Szklarski, an expert on American issues, told wbj.pl, commenting on the deteriorating American-Polish relationship.
International worries
Poland is on top in one category in the survey, though – around 80 percent of Poles are concerned that Russia will cut off energy supplies, more than any other country surveyed.
Afghanistan is another issue Poles were concerned about. According to the report, just over half of Polish respondents supported a complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Only 50 percent of those interviewed said that Poland needed to remain in NATO, a figure well below that seen in other countries, although it was nearly unchanged since 2008. By comparison, 72 percent of UK residents feel their country needs to be part of the alliance.
To read the full report, click here.
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