EASTORA REPORT | Two numbers capture the political pressure on German Chancellor Friedrich Merz: 82 percent of respondents are unhappy with his performance, while his conservative alliance has slipped to 19 percent in a separate voting-intention poll.
The INSA findings, reported by Bild on Saturday, November 7, place dissatisfaction with Merz at a new high in the institute’s series. Only 13 percent say they are satisfied with his work. In January, 24 percent were satisfied and 67 percent dissatisfied. The latter figure has climbed 15 points in ten months.
The verdict on his government is no better. Another question found 82 percent dissatisfied with the coalition of Merz’s CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats (SPD), and just 13 percent satisfied. The questions assess Merz and the government separately.
For many respondents, the disappointment is personal. Sixty percent say their own circumstances have worsened under the coalition, against six percent who report improvement. Another 29 percent see no change. The survey records their perceptions, rather than independently measuring their economic circumstances.
The electoral picture adds a different kind of pressure. In INSA’s voting-intention survey, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) stands at 29 percent, ten points ahead of the CDU/CSU. The Greens have 15 percent and the SPD, Merz’s coalition partner, 14 percent. CDU/CSU has lost one point since the previous poll. In the 2025 election, the bloc won about 28.5 percent against the AfD’s 20.8 percent.
This result comes from interviews with 1,204 eligible voters between November 2 and 6. It asks how people would vote if an election were held, not whether they approve of the government.
The findings are not isolated. An ARD DeutschlandTrend poll published two days earlier found 85 percent dissatisfied with Merz’s work, although it used a separate sample and questionnaire.
Merz remains chancellor, and these surveys do not determine his government’s survival. But they expose a double problem: widespread dissatisfaction with those governing Germany, alongside a voting-intention gap that puts the AfD well ahead of his own party.