rki.news
By Mian Naveed Afzal, Bureau Chief Lahore
According to a recent survey in Germany, around 47% of citizens want the current coalition government — made up of the conservative alliance and Social Democrats under Chancellor Friedrich Merz — to come to an end.
The survey, conducted by YouGov for the weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag, found that 38% of respondents support holding new elections if the coalition collapses, while 9% want Merz’s minority government of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Bavaria’s Christian Social Union (CSU) to continue. Overall, 30% supported the current coalition, while 24% either gave no opinion or said they “don’t know.”
Regionally, there was a clear difference between eastern and western Germany. In eastern Germany, 46% favored ending the government, compared to 35% in western Germany. Only 22% in eastern Germany supported the current coalition, while support in western Germany stood at 31%.
Chancellor Merz, whose personal approval ratings have reportedly dropped to as low as 16% in recent surveys, also admitted that disagreements within the government have increased and that its performance needs improvement. Speaking at an event in Würzburg, he said there may be too much political conflict within the government and too few practical results.
Merz’s government is facing internal disagreements over key issues such as energy policy, social reforms, labor laws, and rising inflation linked to the Iran war.