Nearly half of Germans believe that the former Angela Merkel would be better prepared to deal with their country's current problems than Friedrich Merz, according to the results of a poll by the "JuGav" agency, commissioned by DPA, via BTA.
Respondents who believe that Merkel would do a better job than Merz amount to 48%, while 29% believe that both politicians from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) would be equally capable. But only 8% of respondents believe that Merkel would perform worse than Merz, and 15% did not answer the question or said they could not judge.
Public support for Merz is extremely low, and his coalition government is trying to overcome disagreements on a number of issues, including reforms in the field of long-term care, pensions and taxation, DPA notes.
Merkel governed Germany from 2005 to 2021, and for most of that period the Christian Democrats governed in coalition with the Social Democrats, who are currently Merz's coalition partners.
The "JuGav" poll was conducted on Friday among 2,072 adults.
The conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is headed for the heaviest regional election loss in its 81-year history. At the same time, the far-right "Alternative for Germany" continued to strengthen its position in today's two votes in Germany's federal states, according to exit polls cited by DPA.
According to exit polls by public broadcasters ARD and Zet DF, Merz's Christian Democrats are struggling to overcome the 5 percent barrier to enter the state parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. This is the party's worst regional election result, worse than the 9 percent it received in the Bremen elections in 1951.
Two weeks after its convincing victory in the Saxony-Anhalt elections, the AfD is also expected to win in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania with 37 - 38 percent of the vote, meaning it doubles its percentage compared to the previous election in 2021. The anti-immigrant party has a slim lead over the ruling German Social Democratic Party (SPD), which receives support from around 36 percent of voters.
In Berlin, Merz's conservatives are likely to lose control of the capital. According to exit polls, the far-left "The Left" party - the successor to the socialist party that ruled the former East Germany - leads convincingly with about 25% of the vote ahead of the CDU (20%).
The AfD is expected to collect between 13.5 and 16% of the vote, up from 9.1% in 2023.
Data based on the first partial results of the ballot counting are expected within the hour.
The elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern are increasing the pressure on Merz, whose ratings have collapsed recently, which is why his political future is the subject of increased speculation.
Source: www.bta.bg