Friedrich Merz's Chancellorship in Doubt: stern Poll Shows Trust Levels Plummeting
Germans Perceive Loss of Trust Regarding Friedrich Merz - Germans' Perspectives Towards Friedrich Merz Unveiled
by Lorenz Wolf-Doettinchem** + - 1 Min
The upcoming Chancellor election on May 6 has a frontrunner in Friedrich Merz. Unfortunately, he starts his potential term with a chancellor disadvantage. His standing waned during the federal election campaign, and his reputation has deteriorated even more during the coalition negotiations.
Trust Issues Loom Over Friedrich Merz's Leadership
The stern poll, collected by the Forsa Institute, has some troubling findings for Merz. Only 21 percent of respondents consider him trustworthy, a decline of nine percentage points since August and three percentage points since January. In comparison, 28.5 percent voted for the CDU/CSU in the election. Merz scores highest on one criterion: 61 percent of Germans find him understandable. However, his losses are significant when it comes to leadership strength (40 percent) and understanding people (27 percent). Merz is regarded as sympathetic by only 17 percent.
CDU and CSU voters view Merz more positively, with 71 percent attributing leadership strength to him and 79 percent considering him competent. Yet, even among his supporters, his credibility takes a hit: Only 53 percent trust him, a drop of eight percentage points compared to January. The likely future Chancellor (Merz) manages to improve slightly among the SPD voters: Now, 40 percent of them regard him as competent (+11 percentage points), and 18 percent trust him (+9 percentage points). However, Merz fails to impress the AfD's growing support: Only 14 percent view him as a strong leader, 13 percent as competent, and just 3 percent as trustworthy.
The stern poll data was collected by telephone by the market and opinion research institute Forsa for stern and RTL Germany on April 15 and 16. Sample size: 1006 respondents. Statistical error tolerance: +/- 3 percentage points, making it representative.
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- Friedrich Merz
- CDU
- Forsa Institute
- stern Poll
- AfD
- The stern Poll reveals that Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner for Chancellorship, has a low level of trust from the general public, with only 21% considering him trustworthy.
- The trust in Friedrich Merz has significantly declined since August, with a drop of 9 percentage points, and further decline of 3 percentage points since January.
- Despite CDU/CSU voters viewing Merz more positively, his credibility among them has also taken a hit, with only 53% trusting him, a drop of 8 percentage points compared to January.
- The stern Poll data, collected by the Forsa Institute, indicates that Merz fails to impress the AfD's growing support, with only 14% viewing him as a strong leader, 13% as competent, and just 3% as trustworthy.
