More than three in four Germans do not believe the German government is making a substantial contribution to easing the explosive situation in the Middle East, according to a representative YouGov poll for dpa.
Asked how strong, if any, they considered the German government’s influence on international efforts toward peace talks in the war between the United States and Iran, 42% of respondents said it was “not strong at all,” while another 35% described it as “rather not strong.”
Only 9% saw significant influence from Berlin. Of those, 7% said Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government had a rather strong influence on negotiations, while just 2% viewed its role as very strong. Another 14% of respondents said they did not know.
The survey was conducted from April 10 to 13 among 2,178 participants.
The war began on February 28 with massive US and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets, in which supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed.
Iran, backed by the Shiite Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, responded with counterattacks. In addition to targets in Israel, US military bases and other sites in Arab Gulf states were also hit.
A two-week ceasefire is currently in place until April 22. Talks on a lasting solution are being held under Pakistani mediation, but so far without agreement.
Israel has said the ceasefire does not apply to its airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon, while Hezbollah continues to fire rockets at Israel.