(Adnkronos) – German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is heading into the summer break with limited public support, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by Dpa. The poll found that 32% of eligible voters believe the situation in Germany has worsened since Merz took office, while 22% see an improvement and 37% see no change. YouGov surveyed 2,192 eligible voters between July 11 and 14.
Shortly after taking office in May, Merz told the Bundestag, the lower house of the German parliament, that he wanted citizens to feel by the summer that things were slowly improving and that progress was being made. When asked about Merz’s recent statement that his government is among the best in recent decades, only 17% fully or partially agreed, while 71% disagreed. Among supporters of Merz’s conservative bloc, made up of his Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), satisfaction is higher, with 54% seeing improvements, 11% a decline, and 28% no change.
However, Merz’s praise for his government has drawn mixed reactions even within his own ranks, with 44% (rather) agreeing and 41% (rather) disagreeing. A potential factor that could dampen public opinion could be the coalition’s decision to postpone a tax cut on electricity for households for financial reasons, applying it only to selected companies and agriculture. Some 69% of respondents said they understood little or nothing about it, while 23% found it fairly understandable. Opinions are divided on the Merz government’s ability to keep the far-right AfD at bay in the long term: 31% expect the CDU/CSU to overtake the AfD by the end of its term, 26% expect a tie, and another 26% believe the AfD will be ahead.
