NewsScholz's alarmingly low poll results

Scholz's alarmingly low poll results

Olaf Scholz
Olaf Scholz
Images source: © PAP | ANNA SZILAGYI
ed. MMIK

9:24 AM EST, December 8, 2023

Chancellor Olaf Scholz's government sees historic low approval ratings among Germans. The latest polling data indicates a level of dissatisfaction higher than ever before, with a mere quarter of respondents believing Scholz is effectively executing his role as chancellor.

The Polish Press Agency (PAP), referring to the German newspaper "Welt," noted that past governments had even lower public acceptance. A historic low in approval ratings was observed in November 2003 with only 11% positive evaluation for the Gerhard Schroeder-led government. Moreover, the CDU-FDP coalition led by Angela Merkel in June 2010 barely received support, only scoring 12%. "Welt" warns that the current Scholz government is nearing these historic lows.

Government evaluation by Germans

The survey, conducted by Infratest Dimap on behalf of ARD “Tagesthemen” and "Welt," reveals that merely 17% of respondents this week are "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the performance of the Scholz government. This figure represents a decline of 6 percentage points since November, making it the lowest ever recorded for the current SPD-Greens-FDP coalition.

Furthermore, only 20% of those polled support Scholz as chancellor, reflecting an 8-point decrease since November. According to "Welt," this is the lowest approval rating for any chancellor since Infratest began polling in 1997. The poll also indicates that only 27% of participants feel Chancellor Scholz carries out his duties effectively, and just 23% believe he is equipped to efficiently steer the country through a crisis.

In terms of support for individual political parties, the CDU/CSU Union leads with 32%. The SPD follows with 14%, the Greens with 15%, and the AfD with 21%. Political parties failing to cross the 5% threshold include the FDP at 4% and the Left at 3%.

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