Only one German in ten is satisfied with Merz's government, a record low
The October DeutschlandTrend has the government and the chancellor both at 10% approval, the worst ever recorded. The Union slips to 20% and the AfD stays clear at 27%.
Just 10% of Germans are satisfied with the work of the federal government, and 10% with the chancellor's. Both are the lowest readings in the history of the ARD-DeutschlandTrend, which infratest dimap carried out among 1,303 voters from Monday to Wednesday. In the Sunday question the CDU/CSU loses a point to 20%. The Union has only once polled that low in the series, in September 2021.
The AfD is unchanged at 27% and remains the strongest party. The SPD holds at 13%. The Greens gain a point to 16% and the Left loses one to 11%. The FDP stays at 4%, below the threshold. Together the two coalition parties now poll 33%.
The mood behind the numbers is about money. Around half of those asked fear they cannot keep their standard of living. Asked how to fund the welfare state, 41% would accept higher contributions and 37% would rather see benefits cut; six in ten want any cuts staged by income. Only 17% trust the government to make the social systems secure. On energy, 74% say its measures do not go far enough. The fuel discount that started this week splits the country: 47% think it right, 46% wrong.
The worries reach beyond the wallet. Two thirds fear people could lose control of artificial intelligence, the same share worries about Donald Trump's policies, and 54% fear Russia will attack further European countries. The biggest worry of all, at 84%, is that the parties find no common answers on the central questions.