Every fifth resident of the Old World does not favor prosperous Germans
Being the strongest and most successful is very good. There will be prosperity, well-being, and confidence in the future. But you will have to pay for it with your image - no one will love such an "ideal winner of difficulties." Take, for example, the Germans - a hardworking and affluent nation, one of Europe's leaders in standard of living. However, according to the international magazine Reader’s Digest, 22% of Europeans at least dislike them. On the other hand, respondents surveyed by the magazine greatly respect the German ability to do business: 45% consider Germans the most businesslike Europeans. But Europeans treated the economic and managerial talents of other peoples with rare skepticism: after the Germans in this ranking come the Swiss, who garnered a modest 11% of the vote, reports Vremya Novostey.
And in order to be a favorite of neighboring countries, a people, like an ordinary person, needs to be the "life of the party." The same survey revealed that the British are loved for their sense of humor - 30% of Europeans believe that the wittiest people live in Great Britain. Italians and especially the Dutch are valued and loved for their relaxed attitude and sex appeal. The Netherlands generally turned out to be the leader of public opinion in terms of frivolous behavior: 21% of respondents believe that residents of The Hague and Amsterdam have achieved maximum freedom in terms of sex and drugs. And Sweden, which took second place - the "exemplary" country of the sexual revolution - was noted by only 10%. And one more curious result: according to Europeans, the best earners are not the businesslike and serious Germans, but the cheerful British. Apparently, with such excellent incomes, they have no choice but to hone their vaunted wit.
Nevertheless, Europeans do not wish to live on the foggy Albion under fire of jokes and quips, and even big salaries cannot change anything. Perhaps many rightly believe that for big salaries one will have to work hard. As a preferred country of residence, quite stable states of Southern Europe were most often chosen, famous for their rather relaxed lifestyle: Italy (which is twice behind Britain in the wit rating - 15% vs. 30%), Spain, and France. Oddly enough, this list of countries suitable for living also includes Russia, and from the point of view of Europeans, for some reason it stands almost on the same level as relatively prosperous states of Central Europe, such as Poland or Hungary. And the best city in Europe to live in was the capital of fashion, love, and France - a quarter of respondents would like to become Parisians. London, where Russian oligarchs are eager to go, loses to Paris by more than twice: only 13% would like to live there.
By the way, if you believe this survey, Europeans' dreams rather poorly correspond to the actual state of affairs in European countries. At the end of last year, the group NFO Direct Services compiled a kind of satisfaction rating of the peoples of Western Europe. The results were unexpected: the most satisfied Europeans turned out to be the Irish, especially Dubliners. Almost everything pleases them: good ecology, medicine at the proper level, and everyday life is well organized. However, the rest of Europe still does not appreciate the beautiful surroundings of Dublin, and crowds of potential immigrants dream of moving to Italy (which, presumably, the Irish are quite happy about). Italians and Spaniards, by the way, like their own lives much less, but this does not interfere with the positive image of their countries at all.