2 in 3 Germans want Merkel out after next year’s elections
Almost two thirds of the German electorate are disappointed with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policies and would not support her candidacy for top office in elections that are due to take place next year, a recent poll has shown.
Some sixty four percent of those polled by the INSA institute for Cicero magazine are against Merkel’s potential fourth term in the Chancellery. The next German federal elections to the Bundestag, while yet to be scheduled, should take place no later than October, 22, 2017, to determine proportional representation in parliament and appoint the new Chancellor.
Discontent with Merkel’s rule is equally spread throughout the nation, with 63.8 percent opposing the Chancellor in the west of Germany and 64.8 percent in the east. Furthermore out of the 2,048 people polled between May 4 - 9 May, those in the 45-54 year old category rejected Merkel’s policies by 70 percent.
The new poll also revealed that the lower the income and the level of education of the respondents, the less likely they were to support the extension of Merkel’s reign. Among the Germans with no education, some 74.8 percent said no to a fourth term. Similarly, the people with less than 1,000 euros a month rejected Merkel by 74.2 percent.
In a separate poll also conducted by INSA for Bild magazine, Germany’s two main political parties would barely reach the 50 percent threshold needed to form a ruling coalition. During the 2013 election the incumbent government – composed of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) – failed to achieve a majority of seats forcing the Merkel’s party to form a grand coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD).
This time around the picture looks similar with a combination of Merkel’s CDU and Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) only polling at 30.5 percent. To form the coalition the Bild poll estimates that SPD with its 19.5 percent support will once again have to be brought in to achieve majority.
The INSA results indicates a major fall from grace on the part of the Chancellor, mainly due to her handling of the migrant crisis which has beset Germany in recent months. People are also apparently opposed to closer ties with Turkey.
