The German population is largely in favour of almost 12,000 U.S. soldiers being withdrawn from their country, according to a survey conducted by opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of dpa.
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Around 47 per cent of people surveyed were in favour of reducing the number of soldiers from 36,000.
One in four people surveyed thought that the U.S. forces should leave Germany completely.
By contrast, only 28 per cent said they were in favour of American troops remaining at their current strength while four per cent said they would approve an increase.
A further 21 per cent declined to make a statement.
U.S. Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, announced last week that the country will withdraw almost 12,000 soldiers from Germany.
Of those, 6,400 are to return to the U.S. and about 5,600 are to be transferred to other NATO member states in Europe, mainly to Italy and Belgium.
Five of the six parliamentary groups represented in the Bundestag reject the withdrawal of troops.
Only the Left Party is in favour of the idea, but additionally wants all U.S. soldiers to leave the country.
The picture is different among voters: only supporters of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU bloc are predominantly against a reduction of U.S. soldiers, with 45 to 41 per cent against.
Among the voters of all other parties, those in favour of a withdrawal of troops are in the majority to varying degrees.