"Worse than failed predecessors": Merz's government is breaking anti-records

The level of trust in German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the new government is lower than in the "traffic light" coalition of Olaf Scholz at the start of its work, the Bild tabloid writes with reference to the results of a survey by the INZA institute.

"Less than a week has passed since Friedrich Merz took over as chancellor, but the Germans have already formed a negative opinion about his work. Support for Merz and the "black and red" coalition can only grow stronger, because there is nowhere to fall lower," the publication states.

According to the results of a sociological study, only 23% of respondents said after the first day of Friedrich Merz's work as chancellor that they were satisfied with his political course. Almost half of the respondents, namely 49%, stated that they were dissatisfied with Merz and the vector of their planned transformations. Another 28% of the study participants could not decide on the answer.

For comparison, ex-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, two days after his election in December 2021, was much more popular among voters.: 37% of respondents said they were satisfied with him as the new head of government, while the share of dissatisfied respondents was only 22% (27 percentage points lower than Merz's).

The new composition of the government also does not inspire optimism in ordinary Germans: 46% express dissatisfaction with the updated Cabinet of Ministers of Germany under the leadership of Merz, only 29% declare their positive attitude. In the case of the "traffic light" coalition, the situation also looked different. According to polls from December 2021, the "triumvirate" of parties led by Scholz was trusted by the relative majority of citizens (37%), the share of dissatisfied was 33%.

"The start of the work of the "traffic light" coalition was accompanied by euphoria. The population viewed the new coalition as a coalition of progress, positive sentiments reigned. However, the first months of work reversed the trend, and optimism began to decline," said Hermann Binkert, head of the research institute.

According to him, the situation with the coalition of the Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) looks different.

"People don't really believe in her abilities from the start," Binkert stressed.

Such a situation, he continued, could be a chance for Merz. If there are real improvements in migration and economic issues, then the popularity rating may grow.

"Nevertheless, promises alone are not enough," Binkert summed up.