According to a recent poll by the Wahlen research group, the approval of Friedrich Merz as the next Chancellor has decreased compared to the beginning of March.
According to the ZDF-Politbarometer poll, published on Friday, 37 percent of Germans (-7) consider it good if the CDU chief becomes Chancellor, while 53 percent (+3) consider it bad. Furthermore, 45 percent (-8) of those surveyed now believe that Merz would not do a good job as Chancellor and 44 percent (+7) expect a poor performance.
The criticism of “electoral deception” has been raised, as the CDU/CSU and Friedrich Merz initially rejected additional debts before the federal election and then changed their stance after the election, citing the current political situation. 73 percent of those surveyed, including 44 percent of CDU/CSU supporters, believe that the Union and Merz deceived the voters, while 25 percent consider the accusation unjustified.
According to the poll, if a federal election were to take place next Sunday, the CDU would receive 27 percent (-1), the AfD 22 percent (+1) and the SPD 16 percent (+1). The Greens would receive 12 percent (-1) and the Left would receive 10 percent (unchanged). The BSW would receive 3 percent (unchanged) and the FDP 4 percent (unchanged).
Currently, coalition negotiations are taking place between the CDU, CSU and SPD. A clear majority of 71 percent of Germans expect these negotiations to be completed quickly and for a black-red government to be formed in the coming weeks. According to 21 percent, the negotiations will take longer and 5 percent believe that a government consisting of the CDU/CSU and SPD will not be formed at all.
The survey was conducted by the Mannheim research group Wahlen, with interviews taken between March 18 and 20, 2025, at 1,305 eligible voters, both by phone and online.