German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit to US President Donald Trump has seemingly helped him present himself as a good representative of German interests abroad to a majority of the German public.
According to a Forsa survey commissioned by the “Stern” and RTL Deutschland, 56 percent of voters from all parties approve of Merz’s diplomatic efforts, while 33 percent do not and 11 percent remain undecided.
Merz’s approval ratings are not limited to his own CDU/CSU supporters, with 89 percent of them expressing satisfaction, but also extend to SPD and Green Party voters, with 75 and 71 percent of them, respectively, giving a positive assessment. The only party where a majority of voters disapprove of Merz’s work is the AfD, with 69 percent of its supporters expressing dissatisfaction.
During the meeting at the Oval Office on June 6, Merz was praised and even commended for his English language skills, a departure from the struggles of other world leaders in their interactions with Trump. Merz, as an opposition politician, had previously predicted that he would get along well with Trump.
The survey was conducted before the G7 summit, which took place from June 15 to 17 in Canada and will feature a meeting between the German Chancellor and the US President once again. The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute Forsa through telephone interviews with 1,006 respondents on June 12 and 13.