The Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sunk to a multi-year-low in a recent poll.
According to the survey by pollster YouGov, only 23 per cent of Germans would cast their vote for the CDU. This is the lowest value measured by the institute since December 2021 – and well below the 29 per cent the party got at the 2025 general election.
Merz’ junior coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) scored 13 per cent.
For the survey YouGov questioned almost 2,200 German citizens between April 10 and 13.
BUNDESTAGSWAHL | Sonntagsfrage YouGov
AfD: 27% (+1)
Union: 23% (-3)
GRÜNE: 14% (+1)
SPD: 13% (-1)
LINKE: 10% (+1)
BSW: 4% (+1)
FDP: 4% (+1)
Sonstige: 5% (-1)Änderungen zur letzten Umfrage vom 17. März 2026
Verlauf: https://t.co/f9MV7iZ8iJ#btw29 pic.twitter.com/umEYsiobkz
— Deutschland Wählt (@Wahlen_DE) April 15, 2026
Moreover, 79 per cent of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the performance of the CDU-SPD coalition government, an increase of 24 percentage points since June 2025.
Even Merz’s own voters have rapidly soured towards his government’s performance. In the YouGov poll, only 34 per cent said they were satisfied with it, a steep drop of 14 percentage points from the previous month.
The strongest political force in the polls remains the right-wing Alternative for Germany party (AfD), which came in first with 27 per cent of the vote in the YouGov survey.
AfD leader Alice Weidel commented on the news: “Four percentage points distance to the CDU, four out of five citizens are dissatisfied with Merz. We have no time for an undemocratic cordon sanitaire.
“The political turnaround must take place now.”
Merz’ performance as Chancellor has fallen short of the expectations. Promises of bold reforms – such as reduction of bureaucracy, a return to economic growth and a reform of the burgeoning welfare system – have not been fulfilled.
Many observers attribute this to Merz’ desire to placate his left-wing junior coalition partner, the SPD, at any cost.
Since the CDU has vowed to abstain from any co-operation with the AfD, the SDP is Merz’s only option to remain in power, even at the cost of foregoing everything the CDU once stood for.
And recent events – with Merz reprimanding his own economics minister for being too critical of the SPD – do not give rise to hopes for change.
Publicist Julian Reichel wrote on X today: “Two intriguing questions about Friedrich Merz: Will he manage to drive the CDU’s poll ratings below 20 per cent? Will he manage to drive the government’s approval ratings down to single figures?”
