Survey: Germany's Merz gaining in popularity as leader
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has risen markedly in popularity in his first weeks in the job, according to a new poll published on Saturday.
The survey, conducted by the INSA research institute for the Bild newspaper, found that 36% of the 1,202 respondents were so far satisfied with the performance of the 69-year-old conservative chancellor, who took office on May 6.
This is 13 percentage points higher than his rating four weeks ago. Another 45% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Merz, 4 percentage points less than in the last survey, while 19% did not know how to answer.
Germany's coalition government under Merz is also viewed more positively than it was a month ago. Some 37% said they were satisfied with the partnership of his Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) with the Social Democrats (SPD), up from 29% in the last survey. Again, 45% expressed dissatisfaction, and 18% did not know how to answer.
On a weekly basis, however, there was hardly any movement in the ratings of the five parties represented in Germany's lower house of parliament, or Bundestag.
The CDU/CSU bloc gained one percentage point from the previous week to reach 27% support, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany with 23%, one percentage point down from the previous week.
The SPD (16%) and the Left Party (10%) both lost one percentage point, coming in at 16% and 10% respectively, while the Greens gained one point to garner 11% support.
Public opinion polls are fraught with uncertainty. Among other things, declining party loyalty and increasingly short-term election decisions make it hard for pollsters to accurately assess the data collected.
Generally, surveys only reflect opinion at the time they are conducted and are not forecasts of possible election outcomes.
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Survey: Germany's Merz gaining in popularity as leader
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has risen markedly in popularity in his first weeks in the job, according to a new poll published on Saturday. The survey, conducted by the INSA research institute for the Bild newspaper, found that 36% of the 1,202 respondents were so far satisfied with the performance of the 69-year-old conservative chancellor, who took office on May 6. This is 13 percentage points higher than his rating four weeks ago. Another 45% of respondents said they were dissatisfied with Merz, 4 percentage points less than in the last survey, while 19% did not know how to answer. Germany's coalition government under Merz is also viewed more positively than it was a month ago. Some 37% said they were satisfied with the partnership of his Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) with the Social Democrats (SPD), up from 29% in the last survey. Again, 45% expressed dissatisfaction, and 18% did not know how to answer. On a weekly basis, however, there was hardly any movement in the ratings of the five parties represented in Germany's lower house of parliament, or Bundestag. The CDU/CSU bloc gained one percentage point from the previous week to reach 27% support, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany with 23%, one percentage point down from the previous week. The SPD (16%) and the Left Party (10%) both lost one percentage point, coming in at 16% and 10% respectively, while the Greens gained one point to garner 11% support. Public opinion polls are fraught with uncertainty. Among other things, declining party loyalty and increasingly short-term election decisions make it hard for pollsters to accurately assess the data collected. Generally, surveys only reflect opinion at the time they are conducted and are not forecasts of possible election outcomes.
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