Germans divided over bumpy start of new Chancellor Merz, survey shows
Germans are divided over Chancellor Friedrich Merz's bumpy start in office, a survey found on Wednesday, one week after the new administration took the helm in Berlin.
The study by pollsters YouGov on behalf of dpa found 35% of respondents said they assess the new government's first days in office as "very" or "rather" positive.
On the other hand, 34% of those surveyed gave a "very" or "rather" negative assessment, while the remaining 31% did not know or failed to answer.
Merz, who is due to give his first government address in front of parliament later on Wednesday, was elected the 10th chancellor in Germany's post-war history on May 6 after a humiliating defeat in a first round of voting.
While the conservative leader managed to garner enough support in a hastily organized second round of voting on the same day, it remains unclear which backbenchers from Merz's newly formed coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD) initially withheld their support.
The defeat raised questions about unity in a government set to face a mountain of pressing challenges, including the country's ailing economy.
Although Merz's centre-right bloc - made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU) - emerged as the strongest force from parliamentary elections on February 23, the chancellor himself is a divisive figure, with many Germans objecting to his brash and sometimes quick-tempered style.
The YouGov survey, with 2,200 respondents, was carried out between May 9 and May 12.
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