# Is Britain well liked in Europe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219 "2012-12-26T21:03:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/21 "2012-12-27T02:59:41Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > What nation in Europe is “The Canada” the beloved nice country where you always get a simile when you tell them where your from? Obviously just a subjective view, but I’d go for Norway. They still give us a big Christmas tree for Trafalger Square every year and they punched well above their weight in WWII. On second thoughts… “Maggie Thatcher can you hear me? Your boys took one hell of a beating” mmm… ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/22 "2012-12-27T05:35:32Z")
The (nasty) image that forms in my mind is the British are a people who are desperate to preserve their monarchy but relish the destruction of other countries’ monarchies. Examples are Emperor Hirohito’s status after world war 2, King Cetwayo’s sovereignty, the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, and then of course the Kaiser’s rule. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/23 "2012-12-27T06:57:47Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I didn’t think _anyone_ is well liked in Europe. That is the answer the OP seeks. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/24 "2012-12-27T07:19:30Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > The (nasty) image that forms in my mind is the British are a people who are desperate to preserve their monarchy but relish the destruction of other countries’ monarchies. Examples are Emperor Hirohito’s status after world war 2, King Cetwayo’s sovereignty, the dismantling of the Ottoman Empire, and then of course the Kaiser’s rule. And yet have done nowt against several of the monarchies in Europe and, even more weirdly, actively helped and gave them shelter during WW2. In other words, it has nothing to do with them being monarchies, but everything to do with them being the enemy in war, often a war they didn’t start. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/25 "2012-12-27T07:22:05Z")
^ Yes of course. And there are those who like Britons because of their conduct at time of war (like the Poles.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/26 "2012-12-27T07:29:02Z")
> [@Ryan\_Liam](#): > > I’ve pondered this question for quite a while, and was afraid to ask it lest I not like what I heard, anyway, I decided that I should satisfy my curiosity. > > Are the British well liked in Europe? I always seem to get the impression that the EU consists of a French German alignment and the UK pushed out onto the periphery. … well, the drunken louts aren’t, but in general they’re ok. Those retirees who choose to live in a sunnier version of the UK are polite and cultured and bring money; those who choose to live in “real Spain” often are younger retirees who start a new business to stave off boredom (many of the weirder “rural tourism” sites). The tourists who don’t come here with the sole objective of getting drunk tend to be of the “cultural” bent, rather than of the “beach, beach, beach” bent (even those going to the Canary Islands are likely to take a look at the local museums, the gardens, etc.). And when we go there, either to visit or to work, they are nice to live with; they’re the kind of people who try to make sure that you have all the information you need - I know many people who have had to deal with their government at different levels and who absolutely love the Crystal Clear initiative and wish our government would copy it. Their politicians are about as well-liked as any other politician, which is to say, not. (Still, we reserve the right to call them “Evil Albion” whenever an England-Spain footie match is on, and of course they reserve the right to trot out the Invincible any time it rains in the Isles… but this is a matter of being in the neighborhood, it’s like in-the-family jokes) ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/27 "2012-12-27T11:25:32Z")
For a somewhat representative more representative sample than this threads’s posts I loooked around and found a survey for the BBC World Service - with worldwide scope which means in europe only the UK, Germany, France and Spain were sampled. [http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012\_country\_ratings/2012\_bbc\_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf](http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012_country_ratings/2012_bbc_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf) UK’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 71 %/Germany 53 %/France 52 %/Spain 49 % Germany’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 70 %/Germany 67 %/France 80 %/Spain 60 % France’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 47 %/Germany 72 %/France 75 %/Spain 43 % (curiously enough (p. 24), Canada is liked somewhat more in France and Germany than in the former mother country UK. The US is even liked a bit more by the French than by the British (p. 7)) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/28 "2012-12-27T12:07:35Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > . So yeah; regardless of what politicians who think they are playing a game believe, most of the world looks at their nation as an entity and have opinions about that entity. Curse you for making me agreed with you in GD, **Der Trih.** But yeah, you’re right. And the reason that the question is getting such a negative reaction, is that due to perfectly understandable historical reasons, the concept of nationalism is so toxic in European circles that they instinctively recoil at even the smallest hint of its existence. What they often don’t understand, though, is that they’re the only people who think that way. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/29 "2012-12-27T13:00:01Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > For a somewhat representative more representative sample than this threads’s posts I loooked around and found a survey for the BBC World Service - with worldwide scope which means in europe only the UK, Germany, France and Spain were sampled. > > [http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012\_country\_ratings/2012\_bbc\_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf](http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012_country_ratings/2012_bbc_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf) > > UK’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 71 %/Germany 53 %/France 52 %/Spain 49 % > Germany’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 70 %/Germany 67 %/France 80 %/Spain 60 % > France’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 47 %/Germany 72 %/France 75 %/Spain 43 % > > (curiously enough (p. 24), Canada is liked somewhat more in France and Germany than in the former mother country UK. The US is even liked a bit more by the French than by the British (p. 7)) Well that’s weird (if I’m reading it right) - the French thinks the Germans are better than they are and the Germans think that the French are better. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/30 "2012-12-27T16:56:31Z")
Yeah, I’m kind of confused about all the Germany love. The impression I got from what little international news I get was that the economic crisis in Europe was causing resentment against Germany. There were even reports suggesting that Germany was manipulating things in order to take Europe over, just like the Nazis had planned all along. There’s a Serbian woman in a writing group I attend who is absolutely convinced of this. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/31 "2012-12-27T18:19:38Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > For a somewhat representative more representative sample than this threads’s posts I loooked around and found a survey for the BBC World Service - with worldwide scope which means in europe only the UK, Germany, France and Spain were sampled. > > [http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012\_country\_ratings/2012\_bbc\_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf](http://www.globescan.com/images/images/pressreleases/bbc2012_country_ratings/2012_bbc_country%20rating%20final%20080512.pdf) > > UK’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 71 %/Germany 53 %/France 52 %/Spain 49 % > Germany’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 70 %/Germany 67 %/France 80 %/Spain 60 % > France’s influence “mainly positive”: UK 47 %/Germany 72 %/France 75 %/Spain 43 % > > (curiously enough (p. 24), Canada is liked somewhat more in France and Germany than in the former mother country UK. The US is even liked a bit more by the French than by the British (p. 7)) Apparently nobody liked the Olympic opening ceremonies. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrokenBriton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@BrokenBriton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrokenBriton)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/32 "2012-12-27T20:37:26Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Yeah, I’m kind of confused about all the Germany love. The impression I got from what little international news I get was that the economic crisis in Europe was causing resentment against Germany. There were even reports suggesting that Germany was manipulating things in order to take Europe over, just like the Nazis had planned all along. > > There’s a Serbian woman in a writing group I attend who is absolutely convinced of this. I don’t think you can dispute the Euro has created a German economic empire - nothing moves without Berlin’s approval, and share. The Euro has also served German industry - and therefore German society - really very well for a decade (lowest employment for 30 years, worlds largest exporter by value until last year (China), etc). ---
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/33 "2012-12-27T21:15:27Z")
> [@BrokenBriton](#): > > …nothing moves without Berlin’s approval. I think Frankfurt maybe nearer the (Deutsch) mark… I largely agree with you though, economic union before political union was an ill thought out idea. ---
**Author:** ![Casparlatete](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/casparlatete/32/3377_2.png) [@Casparlatete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casparlatete)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/34 "2012-12-29T10:56:18Z")
By Britain, I suppose you mean the British, and by Europe - well that’s a pretty large place. It is impossible to speak objectively for everyone, but I can say that in general the British are much liked by the German people. ---
**Author:** ![Premislaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f0a364/32.png) [@Premislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Premislaus)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/35 "2012-12-29T12:11:52Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > There’s a Serbian woman in a writing group I attend who is absolutely convinced of this. Serbians are not exactly mainstream Europeans. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/36 "2012-12-29T12:49:21Z")
Maybe not, but they’re Europeans. Let’s not start playing “not European enough”, ok? ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/37 "2013-01-04T16:53:58Z")
Well Serbians are something of a special case wrt Germany. In five consecutive wars (World Wars I/II, Croatia’s secession, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Kosovo) we were on the opposite side (with Croatia, only with political support for independece), so it’s not a stretch to think we are out to get Serbia. The Milosevic government used to make good propaganda use of it. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/38 "2013-01-04T17:40:09Z")
Yes. Britain is well liked in Scandinavia. Probably the most liked European country. There’s an old connection between Denmark and Britain + Ireland going back hundreds or thousands of years. More recently many people have not forgotten the war and Montgomery. London is one of the largest Danish cities in terms of Danes living there. It’s the same for rest of Europe, Europeans flock to London unlike to any other European city. We also watch British movies, TV-Series, TV-Shows, listen to British music. I can name a ton of English TV-Series and Shows, music groups, etc. – very few from the rest of Europe. Even the British flag (Union Jack) is rather popular in the rest of Europe. Seen on t-shirts, posters, etc. Often moreso than the various national flags. The British EU scepticism is also quite popular with a large part of the population. Please don’t leave the EU and leave us all alone with all the EU-crats. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/39 "2013-01-04T20:12:57Z")
And Denmark is very popular in the UK too. Thanks for the butter and bacon (and in Copenhagen itself, Christiana!) ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219/40 "2013-01-04T20:30:21Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > And Denmark is very popular in the UK too. Thanks for the butter and bacon (and in Copenhagen itself, Christiana!) …and thanks VERY much for the Sofie Gråbøl. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-britain-well-liked-in-europe/645219.md?page=3)