German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has seen his approval ratings fall to their lowest levels ahead of his government’s first anniversary in May, according to two surveys released Tuesday, signaling growing public discontent.
In a Forsa poll published by the RTL and NTV broadcasters, the far-right AfD emerged as the most popular party in Germany on around 27% – a solid lead over Merz's conservative CDU/CSU alliance on 22%.
Only 15% of respondents said they were satisfied with the work of the chancellor, while 83% said they were not satisfied.
Merz, nearing a year in office, is struggling to revitalize a sluggish economy and a reform drive has sparked discord between the conservatives and their coalition partner, the centre-left SPD.
The government last week halved its 2026 growth forecast due to the Middle East war energy shock, while vowing to step up reform efforts amid criticism that they are moving too slowly.
In another survey published Tuesday by the Insa pollster, Merz was ranked as the least popular politician in a list of 20.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius from the SPD topped the list, while Alice Weidel, co-leader of the AfD, came in at number eight.
The CDU/CSU and SPD reluctantly joined forces to form a coalition after elections in February 2025 failed to produce a stable majority.
They have since been publicly at odds over which reforms to pursue, with the business community growing increasingly frustrated.
This week, Christian von Stetten, a CDU lawmaker who is the head of a parliamentary group focused on small and medium-sized businesses, said the coalition would "definitely not" last the full four years of its term.
The conservatives and the SPD are "not a good fit for each other," he said at a business event, according to a video published by the Bild daily.
The former East German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania are set to hold key regional elections later this year, with the AfD currently enjoying a commanding lead in the polls in both.
The CDU/CSU won the February 2025 national election with a score of 28.5%.
