The number of Germans unhappy with the job their government is doing has reached a new high.
According a new survey conducted by pollster Infratest dimap for State broadcaster ARD, 75 per cent of Germans are either “rather dissatisfied” (46 per cent) or “totally dissatisfied” (29 per cent) with the work of the federal government.
Only 21 per cent of respondents said they were “satisfied” with the administration of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) and only 1 in 100 said they were “very satisfied”.
For the survey, more than 1,300 people were questioned by phone and online on September 1 and 2.
The results translated to a new low for the popularity of Merz and his colleagues.
The new lows came after disheartening official news reports, including rising unemployment, which have dashed hopes for a speedy recovery of the German economy.
The new coalition government between CDU and Social Democratic Party (SPD) is now much less popular with Germans than the left-wing predecessor administration was after the same period of time in power. Four months into their term in 2022, the left-wingers saw 47 per cent of respondents happy with their work.
Neither the CDU nor SPD have found favour among most voters. According to the poll, more than two-thirds of respondents were dissatisfied with the work of both parties.
As regards individual government members, 33 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the job Merz was doing while 62 per cent were unhappy.
The most popular politician in government is currently defence minister Boris Pistorius. Sixty per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with his work, while 27 per cent were not.
Despite high levels of dissatisfaction with both government parties, the survey did not show major movement between the parties.
If there was a general election on September 7, the CDU could expect to come in first at 27 per cent, closely followed by the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party with 25 per cent.
BUNDESTAGSWAHL | Sonntagsfrage Infratest dimap/ARD
Union: 27%
AfD: 25% (+1)
SPD: 14% (+1)
GRÜNE: 11% (-1)
LINKE: 10%
BSW: 4% (+1)
FDP: 3% (-1)
Sonstige: 6% (-1)Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 07. August 2025
Verlauf: https://t.co/f9MV7iZ8iJ#btw29 pic.twitter.com/nDsFpmpZyy
— Deutschland Wählt (@Wahlen_DE) September 3, 2025
