84% of voters dissatisfied with German gov’t

The most recent ARD-Deutschlandtrend and Sonntagsfrage polls have found that just 15 percent of voters in Germany are satisfied with the current CDU/CSU-SPD government. Which specific policies are people unhappy about?

26 percent would vote CDU in a Sunday election

The latest Sonntagsfrage, Germany’s best-known political poll, which asks voters who they would vote for if a federal election were held this coming Sunday, has produced unflattering results for the current government.

Just 15 percent of the 1.316 people surveyed for the representative poll said they were satisfied with the current CDU/CSU-SPD coalition, 10 percent fewer than just a few weeks ago. 84 percent said they were dissatisfied.

If a federal election were held this Sunday, the CDU/CSU would still win the highest percentage of the vote, but only 26 percent. The AfD would follow, with 25 percent, and the Greens with 14 percent. SPD would take 12 percent, the Left Party would take 10 percent and BSW would take 3 percent.

This is a 2-percentage-point drop for the CDU/CSU compared to the previous poll, a 2-percentage-point increase for the AfD, the worst-ever Sonntagsfrage result for the SPD, and a 1-percentage-point increase each for both the Greens and the Left Party.

What are German voters unhappy about?

The poll also asks voters about their feelings towards certain specific policies. According to the results, 66 percent of respondents said that social security contributions and taxes were becoming an unaffordable burden, 28 percent said they were an appropriate burden, and 1 percent said they could afford to pay more.

The poll comes as the Friedrich Merz-led government push on with their so-called “spring of reforms”. In recent weeks, the government has announced significant austerity measures for the statutory health insurance system and the possibility of increasing VAT, among other policies.

A proposal from Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) to reduce tax burdens on low- and middle-income households and increase burdens on higher incomes enjoys broad support. The plan to scrap tax breaks for married couples (Ehegattensplitting) who marry in the future, and the blanket VAT increase, were both viewed unfavourably.

The majority of respondents supported accelerating the recognition of qualifications for international residents and faster labour market integration for asylum seekers. Respondents strongly rejected a proposal from the government-appointed Health Finance Commission (FinanzKommission Gesundheit) to increase the cost of medical prescriptions.