The majority of Germans disapprove of Olaf Scholz’s performance as chancellor, a recent opinion poll by YouGov has indicated. His traffic-light coalition government is seen equally unfavorably by the country’s population, the survey revealed.
On Friday, a separate poll by ARD-DeutschlandTrend showed that after two years in office the level of public dissatisfaction is the highest on record for a sitting chancellor.
The YouGov survey, which was conducted over December 1-6 and the results of which were published on Saturday, involved 2,119 respondents. According to its findings, some 74% of respondents said Scholz was doing a poor job, with only 20% seeing his performance in a positive light. As for the entire coalition government, 73% said they were unhappy with it, while only 22% responded that they were satisfied. This is the worst monthly figure since the coalition came to power.
Some 77% said they place little or no trust in the way Scholz is governing Germany, a figure that reaches 60% among supporters of the chancellors’ own Social Democratic party.
When asked which politician they would like to take over the reins in the country, 15% named Bavarian Governor Markus Soeder, with the Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-chairwoman and the leader of the party’s parliamentary group, Alice Weidel, enjoying the support of another 12%. Sahra Wagenknecht, who was a prominent member of the Left party, but left it and announced back in October that she would form a new party, garnered 8%. Other political figures trailed behind this trio.
ARD-DeutschlandTrend on Friday painted a similarly grim picture for the chancellor, with just 20% of respondents assessing his work as satisfactory, and only 27% saying that he can do the job at all.
Meanwhile, 82% of Germans were dissatisfied with the performance of the country’s traffic-light coalition government. Of the ministers, only defense chief Boris Pistorius was rated favorably by a slight majority of respondents (52%). Others failed to receive the support of more than 38% of respondents.
The recent budget crisis seems to have dealt a further blow to the already waning approval ratings of the chancellor and government. After the Constitutional Court shot down an attempt to repurpose €60 billion ($65 billion) of funds left over after the Covid-19 pandemic, Scholz’s government has had to freeze most of its new spending commitments.