Poll: More than half of Germans support Chancellor Merz's resignation

Berlin, September 22 (KUNA) – A German opinion poll published on Tuesday showed that 55 percent of citizens in Germany support the resignation of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz from his post, while 40 percent believe he should continue leading the government. The survey, conducted by the Forsa market research and polling institute for the German television channels RTL and NTV, found that the share of those opposed to Merz remaining as chancellor reaches 68 percent in the eastern German states, compared to 53 percent in the western states.

These results come in the wake of a series of electoral setbacks for Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in local elections, after the party lost seats in the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state parliament last Sunday and saw its support drop to around 17 percent in Saxony-Anhalt two weeks ago, finishing second to The Left party in Berlin’s state elections last Sunday.

The poll reflects a low level of satisfaction with Merz’s performance, with only 11 percent of respondents saying they are satisfied with his performance as chancellor, while 87 percent expressed dissatisfaction. Regarding the reasons for this decline, the survey showed that 66 percent of voters hold Merz personally responsible for the party’s losses in the aforementioned state elections. The poll also clarified that the main reason was voters’ belief that the conservatives are not paying enough attention to citizens’ daily problems, a view held by 81 percent of those surveyed.

Furthermore, the poll indicated that 64 percent attribute their dissatisfaction with the chancellor’s performance to the Merz government’s reversal of its election promise not to incur new debt, while 57 percent believe the government’s policy lacks social balance. (End) E.N.J./A.M.S.