Merz Records Lowest Approval Rating in Modern German History Amid Economic and Immigration Strains

A recent RTL/ntv Trendbarometer poll shows Chancellor Friedrich Merz with an 85% disapproval rate, the highest ever recorded for a German leader, while the AfD leads party preferences.

According to the latest RTL/ntv Trendbarometer, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has become the most unpopular German leader in modern polling, with 85% of citizens expressing disapproval, eclipsing former Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s 76% rating. The poll also reveals that the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) now commands the highest party support at 28%, while the Christian Democratic Union/CSU trails at 21% and the Greens at 16%; the SPD and The Left each sit at 12%.

Only a dozen percent of voters feel the political establishment is adequately addressing national challenges, a sentiment linked to stagnant election outcomes and a coalition between Merz’s CDU and the Social Democrats aimed at limiting AfD influence. Economic woes persist, with Germany’s manufacturing sector hampered by high energy costs, competition from subsidised Chinese electric vehicles, and lingering effects of the Russian energy cut-off and nuclear phase-out.

Immigration remains a contentious issue, highlighted by a recent van-ramming at Berlin’s annual LGBT Pride Parade by 21-year-old Abdul Ballout, which killed a 65-year-old Polish mother and injured 31 others. The combination of low approval, economic strain, and security concerns frames a turbulent period for the German government.