Patriotism seems alive and well for many – but most of those asked do admit some sense of ‘belonging’ to Europe, our survey has shown
After another tense week for the European Union and those concerned with the status of Britain’s partial membership, one may have expected that the EU faithful, in light of the Eurozone’s protracted economic troubles, would be in the minority.
And indeed, when asked which metaphor best symbolised the European Union today:
- 29% of respondents likened it to a ‘house of sticks’ – in that one gust of wind would be enough to topple it
- 21% compared it to a ‘ruin’ that should be knocked down and rebuilt
- While 13% saw the EU as a ‘pyramid’, with a strong base, able to withstand the tests of time
- And just 5% viewed it as a ‘pantheon’, or thing of greatness
- One respondent suggested that the EU was a ‘train with too many drivers. It's going to keep going and going, but nobody is really at the controls’
Yet while our Europe and EU-focussed survey did prompt a show of national and regional pride among the 1,066 people who took part, with 35% stating that they ‘don’t feel European at all’, 64% of people admitted that they did ‘feel’ European to at least some degree.
Freedom to live, work and travel
The wider national debate surrounding EU-UK immigration is far from over, so we at Politics Lab wanted to know how you feel generally about EU residents’ freedom to live, work and travel in any other EU member country they choose.
The response was split – with 44% of you saying you either ‘strongly’ or ‘tending to disagree’ with this freedom, while exactly the same percentage agreed. Yet when asked whether as an individual you should be free to travel, live and work in any European Union country, you were slightly more decisive: 46% of you agreed, compared with 40% who disagreed.
No place like home?
The most controversial results came when we asked you to rate which EU member countries should come ‘top’ across a number of measures.
We began by asking which country you thought had the most beautiful landscape, and it seems here, patriotism won out, with 28% of you giving the UK as your answer. As one respondent enthused, ‘For the sheer variety, profusion and magnificence of such scenic attractions, the UK beats every other EU country hands-down.’
When it comes to food, however, a third of you rated Italy as having the best cuisine out of the 27 member states, with one crediting the Italians for having ‘contributed much more to the world in pure food terms than any other country’.
When it came to the UK’s culinary fare, you scored our food as slightly more popular than that of old rival France – ‘no other country in Europe can boast such a huge range, abundance and variety of foodstuffs, and unique national dishes,’ one person explained of their home-grown choice.
When asked, however, which country’s politicians you ranked highest, the consensus was that ‘none’ of the EU politicians were doing ‘the best job’.
One of you remarked that ‘Europe, in common with much of the world, lacks real leadership at present’, although Germany ranked higher than the UK, at 21% and 11% respectively.
‘Germany gives the impression of being the best-run country in Europe’, said one of you, ‘if the relative strength of its economy is anything to go by, so its politicians must be doing something right.’ The quality of German public services was also felt to exceed that of the UK.
Can’t compare
However many of you were uncomfortable drawing comparisons between countries, and crowning one better than the other 26, without having all the necessary information first.
For example, when asked to nominate the EU country whose citizens you felt were the best-tempered or most attractive, many said they didn’t know, commenting that it was down to the individual, and that such nebulous concepts certainly couldn’t be confined to one country or the other.
That said, a substantial 23% did nominate UK citizens as the best-tempered. One of you listed what you felt were UK-specific characteristics: ‘We are very accepting; we have independence of spirit; we help every country in whatever way we can; we're pretty calm.’ Yet, as another shrewdly observed of their positive view towards fellow Britons: ‘[But] I would say that wouldn’t I?!’
All-in-all, given the chance to move to any other country within the European Union, 34% of you would stay in the UK; 15% would want to live in France, 9% in Germany, and 7% would move to either Italy or Spain.
Hostility to EU, but not Europe
While our survey results show there is clear anxiety about how the EU progresses from here, respondents were split in whether they made a distinction between their feelings towards Europe and their attitudes towards the European Union as an institution.
‘One can feel very European while [also] being hostile (which I am not) to the EU,’ said one respondent.
Some saw a more-integrated EU and ‘united Europe’ as the same thing, as one respondent commented that ‘a united Europe is less likely to cause the problems that a disunited Europe did during the 20th century,’ while another described the EU as ‘a symbol of hope, in danger of being dashed by impatience and fear.’
Others were openly hostile, with calls to ‘get out’ of the EU, and demands for a referendum on the issue.
With under a week to go until the G20 summit in Cannes, our findings indicate that respondents are likely to be keeping a watchful eye on the European Union’s recovery over the next few months.
Just how Britain’s position within the EU will be renegotiated, if at all, remains to be seen.
