German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not enjoy widespread support among the German Socialists of the SPD party, according to the latest Forsa poll.
The survey published on July 22 was conducted among 1,001 party members. Just 33 per cent said they would support Scholz again as chancellor in the upcoming German general elections in 2025.
Another 33 per cent would support the candidacy of defence minister Boris Pistorius. Eight per cent would back Lars Klingbeil, who was SPD general secretary from 2017 to 2021.
Scholz has announced his intention to run for re-election, while Pistorius said he had no intention of competing for the Socialist candidacy.
The majority of the SPD believes their party will not be the strongest in 2025 (66 per cent).
According to the survey, the potential candidate from the Christian Democrats (CDU), Friedrich Merz, is considered the main rival to the SDP.
Only 55 per cent of SPD members are satisfied with Scholz’s work as chancellor. Klingbeil is significantly more popular, with a 79 per cent satisfaction rating, while SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert enjoys 65 per cent satisfaction.
Upcoming State elections in Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg are seen as a precursor to next year’s federal elections, posing a challenge for Scholz and the SPD to improve their currently poor reputation.
The SPD’s result in the European Parliament elections, where the party garnered just 14 per cent, serves for many as a stark warning.
Forsa’s survey, conducted from July 8 to 12, shows widespread frustration among SPD members and a desire for effective opposition within the party’s left-wing niche.
More than half of the SPD members (51 per cent) view the party as being in serious crisis, while 46 per cent see the poor EP results as a temporary downturn.
Many SPD members cite Scholz as the primary issue, with 55 per cent expressing satisfaction with his work and 45 per cent less or not satisfied at all.
Some 52 per cent of those dissatisfied with Scholz joined the SPD in 2005. Eastern-based SPD members are more satisfied with him (58 per cent) compared to their Western counterparts, and SPD female members rate him higher than men (60 per cent against 52 per cent).
In reaction to a brutal knife attack in Mannheim during which a police officer was fatally stabbed in the neck, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he wanted stricter deportation policies targeting criminal migrants. https://t.co/Lw8BtMOZlv
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) June 6, 2024
