Three out of five Germans (60%) are optimistic about the coming year - at least as far as their own lives are concerned. At the same time, there is great concern about a recession in Germany. Three quarters of respondents (72%) expect increasing economic problems in the coming year. At the same time, trust in politics is approaching zero: only one in six citizens (15%) believe that politicians will gain approval from the population in 2012. These are the findings of a recent study by the Foundation for Future Studies, an initiative of British American Tobacco, for which 1,000 German citizens were surveyed on a representative basis.

The economic, financial, banking, debt and euro crises have left their mark. Only around one in four Germans (28%) expect economic output in Germany to grow in the coming year. Hopes for growth are particularly low in eastern Germany (17%). But scepticism is also above average among the rural population, families and older citizens, and belief in an upturn is correspondingly low. The Foundation's Scientific Director, Professor Dr Ulrich Reinhardt: „In economically uncertain times, many citizens worry about being among the losers of society in the future. And while hope for improvement is fading, the fear of a further division of society into crisis winners and losers is increasing.“

Trust in politicians threatens to reach a new low in 2012. It is primarily East Germans (92%), families (91%) and retirees (90%) who have almost completely lost faith in their representatives. There are several reasons for the massive loss of trust: Many German citizens criticise the fact that politicians today are no longer moral role models or that fewer and fewer politicians still stand for or exemplify values such as trust, reliability and honesty. Likewise, many respondents currently have a feeling of indifference and resignation. The issues being discussed politically seem too complex or too confusing and elections are seen as unimportant - not least due to the fear of being lied to by election promises. Reinhardt: „In order to win back the trust of citizens, politicians should offer more reliability, a stronger profile and realistic perspectives instead of appearing interchangeable, staged and thinking in terms of legislative periods. In addition, there should be an active and improved mediation process and honest communication between citizens and politicians.“

The population has concrete ideas about which global challenges should be prioritised in the future. At the top of the list is the regulation of the financial markets. A year ago, only around one in four citizens (2010: 26%) called for this, but this figure has now almost doubled (2011: 46%). Families and young senior citizens in particular (52% and 54% respectively) want the state to exert more influence on the business of banks and investors. In a year-on-year comparison, the demand for combating climate change (2010: 28%, 2011: 40%) also increased significantly. Reinhardt: „Fukushima didn't change everything, but it did change a lot. Now we need to build on what we have achieved and take the step from changing environmental awareness to changing environmental behaviour.“ From the population's perspective, the fight against poverty and hunger as well as the prevention of wars and conflicts remain important challenges. In contrast, education campaigns and the fight against diseases and infections such as malaria and AIDS have lost some of their importance.

The fear of an economic recession is great. There is hardly any trust left in politics. The list of global challenges is long. Nevertheless, a clear majority (60%) of Germans are confident about the coming year. Young Germans (70%) in particular are optimistic about 2012. Reinhardt: „Despite many uncertainties, the younger generation in particular wants to make the best of life and is focussing more on the opportunities than on the problems and risks. This optimism must be encouraged and supported, because the future of Germany lies in any case with the next generation - we must, should and can trust in them.“