Overview
- The ARD 'Deutschlandtrend', published Thursday, found only 10 percent of respondents satisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and 88 percent less or not at all satisfied.
- The survey of 1,303 eligible voters was carried out by Infratest dimap from Monday to Wednesday and is part of a long-running, representative series used by ARD and WDR.
- Several cabinet ministers score far higher than the chancellor with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius at 50 percent and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul at 34 percent, highlighting a split in public views of individual ministers and government leadership.
- If a federal vote were held now the poll shows the AfD leading at 27 percent while CDU/CSU fall to 20 percent and the FDP polls at 4 percent below the 5 percent threshold, a shift that could change coalition options.
- The 10 percent approval is the lowest recorded for a German chancellor since the Deutschlandtrend began in 1997 and may increase pressure on CDU/CSU leaders to adjust strategy or leadership ahead of future tests at the ballot box.