Only seventeen percent of the Danish people say they see the United States as an ally, while around sixty percent see the United States as an adversary, according to a new poll. Just over twenty percent were unsure or chose not to answer. The results are quite striking.
It is safe to say that the friendship between the United States and Denmark has been strained somewhat recently due to the repeated statements by US President Donald Trump and his people that the United States “must” acquire Greenland. Denmark and the United States have otherwise been close allies for as long as people can remember, and the Danish government has long referred to the United States as the “closest ally” of the Danish monarchy. However, if the results of a poll conducted by Epinion for DR are to be judged, it is clear that the Danish public has doubts about how good an ally the United States is to Denmark.
According to the results of the survey, the overwhelming majority of respondents see the United States as an adversary rather than an ally. The survey was conducted from January 21 to 28, and 1,053 people responded to the survey, which asked “given the current situation, would you describe the United States as an ally or an adversary?”
The answers were as follows: 17% said they see the United States as an ally, 60% consider it an adversary, and 20% said they did not know. Then 3% chose not to answer. It is also noteworthy that there is little difference in answers by age, gender, place of residence, political views or other variables. The majority of respondents in all social groups consider the United States to be an adversary rather than an ally.
A Striking Result in a Historical Context
DR presented the results of the survey to representatives of two political parties in the opposition, both of whom say they are quite striking.
“This is indeed a bit frightening. This is one of our oldest allies. We have had diplomatic relations with the United States for over 225 years, we have a strong, close friendship and alliance. Suddenly sixty percent of the population says that we should no longer look at it that way. This is striking,” DR quoted Lars-Christian Brask, a Liberal Alliance MP and the party’s foreign policy spokesman, as saying. However, he says he understands why in light of the comments made by the US president.
Martin Lindegaard, a member of parliament for the Radical Left, agrees. “This is a sign that our relationship with the United States has changed, and that is actually not surprising given the threats that have been directed against Greenland and our economy,” says Lindegaard.
A Danish public broadcaster analyst says the results are quite striking, especially in a historical context. The United States played a key role in liberating Denmark and Europe from the Nazis in World War II and was Denmark’s most important ally. Denmark benefited from economic cooperation with the United States in the post-war years, and Denmark was under the protection of the United States during the Cold War. The United States has proven to be such an important ally for Denmark that Denmark has been willing to do its part to support the United States, for example in Afghanistan.
Among the things that have angered the Danes recently, in addition to the US president’s ambitions for Greenland, are Trump’s comments that Denmark has done little or nothing for the United States, which many felt belittled the contribution of Danish soldiers who helped the US in Afghanistan, whose casualties in Afghanistan were one of the highest per capita.
Source: Visir (in Icelandic)