Pistorius widens lead as Germany’s most popular politician

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius remains Germany’s most popular politician, according to a new poll conducted by the Insa institute and published by Welt.

The survey shows Pistorius leading the ranking with 50.5 points, well ahead of Cem Özdemir of the Green Party, who scored 41.7 points. He is followed by North Rhine–Westphalia Minister-President Hendrik Wüst and Markus Söder.

The ranking also includes Bundestag President Julia Klöckner and Alice Weidel, leader of the Alternative for Germany party.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz remains near the bottom of the list, ranking 19th with 28.6 points. CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn placed last with 28.3 points.

A parallel poll indicates that the Alternative for Germany leads voter preferences with 27.5%, followed by CDU/CSU at 24%, the SPD at 13.5%, the Greens at 13%, and the Left at 10.5%.

Separate findings cited in the report indicate that Merz was recently ranked the least popular among leaders of 24 democratic countries. Another poll found that only 15% of Germans are satisfied with the federal government, marking the lowest approval rating for the current coalition.

By Tamilla Hasanova