Austrians do not believe that the country is adequately protected against attacks from abroad. A full 78 percent hold this opinion in the Gallup "Mood Barometer." At least 42 percent even believe that Austria is "by no means" adequately equipped. Consequently, a clear majority supports participation in the European missile defense project Sky Shield.

24 percent fully welcome this, 33 percent "rather" support it. Practically the same values are found when asked whether Austria should make corresponding investments or whether Sky Shield is compatible with neutrality. Complete rejection of the initiative comes from around 16 percent of the 1,000 respondents on all three points.

FPÖ Supporters Mostly Against Participation in Sky Shield

According to Gallup, there is primarily one voter group that thinks differently. Supporters of the FPÖ mostly reject both participation in the initiative (57 percent) and investments in air defense systems (58 percent) and are skeptical about compatibility with neutrality (59 percent). Additionally, differences are shown based on education level: those with higher education rate participation significantly more positively than those without a high school diploma.

The majority of Austrians do not feel immediately threatened, of course. 70 percent currently consider the threat of air attacks to be low. Only five percent see it as very high. It is also rather unlikely that there could be an attack with drones or missiles in the next ten years. 58 percent consider this unlikely.

The international situation is viewed with concern. Almost three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents believe the "rules-based international order" is at risk. Practically the same number see Russia (81 percent) and the USA (80 percent) as destabilizing factors for the world. For China, it is only 58 percent. The EU performs significantly better in the survey, with 55 percent seeing it as a stabilizing factor, while only 26 percent believe the Union destabilizes the world.

(APA/Red)

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