U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has arrived in Germany to speak at the Munich Security Conference that begins today. Speaking in Washington before his departure, Rubio said rapid changes in alliances needed to be reflected in discussions with European allies and other states. “We live in a new era in geopolitics and it’s going to require all of us to sort of re-examine what that looks like and what our role is going to be,” he said, stating “The old world is gone.”
The conference opens in the Bavarian city as a Politico poll of five Western nations–the U.S., the UK, Canada, France and Germany– conducted between February 6 and 9 found that almost half of those surveyed believe another world war is imminent. In the UK, 43% believe a new world war is “likely” or “very likely” by 2031, an increase from 30% last year. Even more, 46% think the same in the U.S., compared to 38% in March 2025. Of the five countries polled, only Germany has a higher figure for war not being likely.
