The coronavirus pandemic is causing major uncertainty in Germany, with more and more people expressing serious concerns about the handling of the pandemic and future of the country. Unsurprisingly, this means that other worries are being pushed into the background. 

51 percent in Germany feel general uncertainty about future

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic - the high numbers of infections and deaths as well as massive economic and personal restrictions - is increasingly depressing residents of Germany. According to the latest “Safety Report” from the Centre for Strategy and Higher Management, more and more people are concerned about the long-term consequences of the pandemic. 

Every second respondent (50 percent) now fears that Germany will not get the pandemic under control. 51 percent said they were worried by “the general uncertainty about how things will continue” - a massive increase compared to this time last year, when just 32 percent felt this way. 52 percent said they were unsure how things would go from here and feared the country would split into irreconcilable camps. 

Overall, however, the survey showed that people were most concerned about the economic impact of the crisis: seven out of 10 respondents said they had major concerns for the future. In May, 57 percent of respondents believed that economic aid would help companies weather the crisis; currently only 40 percent see it that way. 

Compared to the previous surveys, worries about one’s own financial situation also increased. A good third of respondents (31 percent) felt worried by a loss of income and rising inflation. Almost one in five (18 percent) is concerned about their job. “For the first time in a long time, Germans are plagued by economic worries,” summarised Klaus Schweinsberg, Managing Director of the Centre for Strategy and Higher Management. 

Falling concern about war, terror and climate change

At the same time, concern about war, terror and old-age poverty have dipped since the last report. Climate change has also been pushed down the concern agenda: while in January 2020, 61 percent of those surveyed highlighted the consequences of climate change as a major concern, by January 2021 this had dipped to 54 percent of participants. 

Similarly, people’s assessments of other countries have also shifted. When asked which countries currently pose the greatest international threat to peace, significantly fewer people named Iran and the USA. In the case of the US, the value has almost halved - most likely due to the ascendency of Joe Biden to the presidency - from 61 percent to 31 percent. In contrast, more people in Germany now see China as a threat than they did a year ago.