German Chancellor Scholz’s approval rating hits all-time low

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s approval rating has plummeted to a new low, according to a new survey by public broadcaster ARD.

Thursday’s poll showed that just 31% of Germans approved of the Social Democrat politician’s job performance, the lowest level since he became the chancellor in December 2021.

Some 78% of those surveyed were either less than happy or not happy at all with the center-left liberal coalition government. Only 20% of voters said the government was performing well.

Voter support for the Social Democrat Party (SPD) has dropped to 17% this month, while their coalition partner the Greens scored 15%. The junior coalition partner, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), was at 7%.

Germany’s main opposition, the conservative alliance of CDU and CSU, was favored by 27% of respondents. But the popularity of conservative leader Friedrich Merz was also declining.

Just 24% of voters surveyed hold a favorable view of Merz, versus 66% who have an unfavorable opinion of him, the poll found.

- AfD continues to make gains

Meanwhile, support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) continued to increase and reached a new high of 21% this month, according to the poll.

The anti-immigrant party has doubled its vote share since the last election in 2021, benefiting from broad dissatisfaction with the coalition government’s policies.

Recent surveys have shown that issues such as immigration, increased living costs and rising energy prices are the main reasons for respondents to vote for the AfD.

Leading figures of the party heavily criticized Scholz government’s stance on Russia-Ukraine war, opposed sending weapons to Ukraine, and argued that ending energy imports from Russia was against Germany’s national interests.