German soldiers fire a Heckler & Koch MG5/HK121 machine gun during a live-fire exercise at the Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, April 4, 2024. A majority of Germans support increased defense spending, according to a public opinion poll published on November 11, 2024 . (Thomas Dixon/US Army)

STUTTGART, Germany — A majority of Germans support significant increases in defense spending, a prospect that coincides with Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House and an anticipated campaign to pressure allied militaries to step up, a new opinion poll has found .

In September, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius proposed pushing the amount of military spending from 2 percent of gross domestic product to between 3 and 3.5 percent.

In a new poll released Monday by the Koerber-Stiftung Institute, 50 percent of respondents supported Pistorius’ idea, while another 15 percent said even more should be spent on German defense.

Upbeat public sentiment about defense spending could be helpful for German politicians, who are likely to come under intense scrutiny once Trump returns to office in January.

A German Leopard tank returns from the firing range as part of a 2023 NATO exercise in Italy. Most Germans support increased defense spending, according to a public opinion poll published on November 11, 2024. (Synne Nilsson/Norwegian Army)

However, 57 percent of Germans said they were unwilling to sacrifice spending on social programs for higher defense budgets.

The findings were part of a series of surveys commissioned by the Koerber-Stiftung between September and October, well before the outcome of the November 5 US presidential election was known.

The poll did not address whether people favored raising taxes to resolve conflicting military and social priorities. Germany’s “debt brake” makes it harder for the government to increase deficit spending.

Germany faced harsh criticism from Trump during his first term for failing to meet NATO’s defense spending standard of 2 percent of GDP. This year, for the first time in decades, Berlin reached this target.

But the increase in the amount is unlikely to be considered sufficient by the next administration.

In the past, Trump has frequently said the 2 percent mark is too low. And some allies, such as Poland, have called for a higher NATO spending standard to boost defense capabilities.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius makes remarks during meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, September 6, 2024. That month, Pistorius proposed increasing the amount of German military spending from 2 percent from the gross domestic product to between 3 and 3.5%. A majority of Germans support increasing defense spending, according to a public opinion poll published on November 11, 2024. (Stars and Stripes)

However, Germany’s appetite for spending more on defense does not mean that citizens are eager for their country to play a leading military role in NATO.

A majority of Germans polled, 65 percent, opposed a military leadership role for Germany in Europe, the poll found. There has been persistent opposition to a major domestic military presence in German life, perhaps dating back to the country’s responsibility for World War II.

The poll also looked at German and American support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. A majority of Germans, 57%, are still in favor of providing military assistance to Kiev, in contrast to the US, where the number is now just 41%. The US figures in the survey were compiled by the Pew Research Center.

In both countries, support for Israel in its war against Hamas was even lower, with only 25 percent of Germans and 30 percent of Americans saying their country should provide military aid to Israel, according to the poll.