German Chancellor Merz’s approval rating drops sharply amid growing public discontent

The popularity of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, which began to rise last month amid effective foreign policy moves, has started to decline again.

This is evidenced by the results of a Forsa Institute poll conducted on behalf of n-tv.

Roughly two months after the new federal government of Germany took office, only 38% of respondents said they were satisfied with its performance, while 58% expressed dissatisfaction.

Alongside growing discontent with the work of the federal government, dissatisfaction with Chancellor Friedrich Merz is also increasing, n-tv notes.

While his approval rating had steadily risen in the early weeks after taking office and reached 42%, it dropped by seven points in just one week—to 35%. According to the report, this is the lowest figure since polling began at the end of May.

At the same time, 59% of respondents now view Merz’s performance unfavourably—an increase of eight points from the previous week.

As n-tv writes, the chancellor’s rating has been affected by a growing public perception that the government is failing to address the country's most pressing problems (a view held by 65% of respondents).

An equal number criticise the government’s refusal to lower the electricity tax, which has become one of the key topics of political debate in recent days.

By Vugar Khalilov