Poll: 45% of Germans want snap vote if Merz resigns

Friedrich Merz faces mounting speculation about his future as German chancellor, with a new INSA poll published Tuesday showing that 45% of voters would favor snap national elections should he resign. Only 31% of respondents said they preferred that his conservative alliance and the center-left SPD use their parliamentary majority to select a successor, according to the survey.

The poll arrives as Merz's Christian Democratic Union suffered heavy losses in three state elections this month, fueling questions about his leadership despite his public insistence that he will not step down. The chancellor has described the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern result as "a deep turning point" and "a severe blow," but said he would remain CDU chair and chancellor and that the federal coalition with the SPD would continue.

Party ratings hit record lows

INSA's latest figures place the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany at 29.5%, marking the highest national support the institute has recorded for the party. Merz's CDU/CSU alliance has meanwhile fallen to 19.5%, creating an unprecedented ten-point gap that reflects the conservative bloc's deteriorating position.

The Social Democrats and environmentalist Greens each polled 13.5% while the Left Party stood at 10.5%. Both the liberal Free Democrats and the left-populist BSW remained below the 5% threshold required for parliamentary representation at 4.5% and 3.5% respectively.

Succession favorites emerge

Asked about possible successors to Merz, 20% of respondents named CSU leader and Bavarian Premier Markus Soeder, while 14% favored North Rhine-Westphalia's conservative Premier Hendrik Wuest and 6% backed Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. None of the potential candidates have publicly challenged the chancellor's authority since the regional contests.

The survey was conducted following a string of state election setbacks that saw the AfD top the vote in two eastern states and the Left Party finish first in Berlin. Merz has vowed to press ahead with reforms while maintaining the federal coalition with the SPD, though speculation about his future has continued in German media.