Overview
- In the RTL/ntv Trendbarometer by Forsa, 74% of respondents say the Union should choose a different chancellor candidate for 2029, while 16% favor Friedrich Merz again.
- Support among Union backers is tepid, with 44% favoring a renewed Merz bid and 43% preferring someone else.
- Asked personally, only 18% would welcome another Merz candidacy and 73% reject it.
- Forsa surveyed 1,002 people on November 6–7 with a reported margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
- Merz has just turned 70 with a modest Bundestag reception and family celebration; he is the first chancellor over 70 since Adenauer, and public sentiment on age is split with 45% saying someone over 70 can serve well and 52% preferring a younger leader, as media critiques spotlight domestic-policy missteps and lower popularity than his predecessor.