Republicans are predicted to get a majority in the lower house, but the race in the senate will be very even. In neither party does helping Ukraine enjoy unreserved support.
7.11. 17:29•Updated 7.11. 17:31
A majority of Americans still support economic and military support for Ukraine, but as midterm congressional elections approach, the issue has begun to divide parties.
57 percent of American voters support sending additional aid to Ukraine and 37 percent oppose it. 81 percent of Democrats support sending aid to Ukraine. Among Republicans, only 35 percent say the same.
Almost half of the Republican supporters – 48 percent – now think that the US already supports Ukraine too much.
The information appears in the American newspaper Wall Street Journal last week from the published opinion poll. (you switch to another service)
Investigator Maria Lindén The Foreign Policy Institute is not surprised that the enthusiasm of American voters to support Ukraine has started to decline.
– As the conflict dragged on, this was to be expected. Attitudes are also haunted by the trauma of Afghanistan. Many voters fear that Ukraine will become another war that will just go on and on like the operation in Afghanistan, Lindén analyzed.
Checkbook in your pocket
The United States is currently the most important supporter of Ukraine. After Russia attacked the country, the United States has given Ukraine almost 18 billion euros worth of aid.
Most recently, at the beginning of October, the United States approved a support package worth 630 million euros, which included, among other things, four new Himars rocket launcher systems.
The future of such aid packages is at stake if the Republicans win the congressional mid-term elections to be held in the United States on Tuesday.
The Republican leader of the lower house of Congress Kevin McCarthy warned in connection with the approval of the latest aid package that the party will no longer write a “blank check” in Ukraine after the midterm elections.
According to the latest forecasts, the Republicans will get a majority in the lower house, but the race in the upper house, i.e. the Senate, will be very even.
Traditionally, the Republicans have been a party active in foreign policy, emphasizing the role of the United States as the maintainer of the current world order.
However, according to researcher Lindén, the party is significant For Donald Trump a loyal wing that supports the withdrawal of the United States from the world and the elevation of the state’s self-interest as the most important principle of foreign policy.
– Trump’s supporters are very critical of supporting Ukraine, because the primary question for them is what the United States benefits from this support.
Now this group is close to gaining majority status within the Republican Party.
– Yes, it will make it more difficult to give support to Ukraine, says Lindén.
The ranks of the Democrats are also cracking
There are also signs among Democrats that Joe Biden the administration’s generous support for Ukraine does not enjoy everyone’s unreserved support.
The liberal faction of the House of Representatives Democrats published a letter in October (you will switch to another service), in which Biden was required to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine. Among the signatories of the letter was, among others, a member of the House of Representatives who enjoyed wide visibility Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The letter received a complete blow from the leading figures of the Democrats, because it was considered to represent exactly the kind of concession policy that Vladimir Putin from the west hopes.
Whereas the Republicans calculate the benefit received back from the aid given, the Democrats have their own calculation formula.
– Among Democrats, support for Ukraine is criticized on the basis that the same money that goes to war could be used to help people at home as well, says Lindén.
However, the bubbling pressures for a change of direction in both parties have so far not gained significant column space in the United States, which is preparing for the elections.
Support for Ukraine has not become an important theme in the midterm elections. This means that the decision-makers are still able to consider their positions, because the policies are not locked in with loud campaign promises.
– According to measurements, voters’ interest in foreign policy in the United States has increased, but it is still not an important election topic. People are more interested in their own finances, researcher Lindén analyzed.
The significance of the US mid-term elections for Ukraine will be discussed in the TV news broadcast today at 18:00 and 20:30.
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