A GFK Roper Consulting report has found that British people’s opinions of Europeans and Americans is weakening.
Key findings included:
– British people today remain far less likely than the other EU members to say they are “close” to European culture: A relatively modest 47 percent overall do so, which is 14 points below the comparable percentage in any other EU country surveyed. The number was down 8 points overall since GFK last asked the question in 2003. The 2007 figures are the same among both younger and older Britons.
– When it comes to American culture, under-30 Brits express only marginally more affinity than their elders – but both age groups show substantially less affinity toward America than toward Europe. And both groups register sharp drops since 2003 in the percentages close to America (down 18 and 12 points, respectively, to 36 percent and 33 percent). All in all, Britons’ affinities toward both America and Europe have been weakening among the young and old alike.
– It was not always so. Just four years ago, the shares of Brits young and old who felt close to European and American culture had been rising. With the increases, the figures all constituted majorities or near-majorities.