According to a Yougov poll released on Tuesday, the AfD has gained ground, rising to 28 percent, which increases its gap of six points compared to the CDU and CSU. If a federal election were held on Sunday, the CDU and CSU would together secure 22 percent, a single percentage point drop from the previous Yougov survey in mid-April. Meanwhile, the AfD has increased its share by one point.
The SPD remains steady at 13 percent, while the Greens are also at 13 percent, marking a one-point decrease from a month ago. The Left has increased its support by one percentage point, reaching 11 percent. Other parties reported no change: the BSW and FDP both stand at 4 percent, and smaller parties combined at 5 percent.
Beyond the party support, the survey revealed low public satisfaction with the federal government. In May, only 16 percent of citizens reported being satisfied with the government’s performance, while 82 percent were dissatisfied. This represents an improvement from April, when 19 percent were satisfied and 79 percent were dissatisfied.
Furthermore, 67 percent of respondents believe the governing coalition works poorly, compared to only 10 percent who think it works well. The remaining 16 percent stated that neither description applies, and 8 percent were undecided.
Analyzing key political figures, Friedrich Merz has seen a dip in approval. Currently, only 15 percent rate Merz’s work as good, down five points from April. Conversely, six percentage points more than in April, 81 percent believe that Merz performs poorly. Merz lost support particularly among Union voters-whose rating of his work as good dropped eight points from April (to 38 percent)-and among SPD voters (who rated his work as good at 16 percent, down eight points from April).
In other political matters, the public is divided regarding the practice of ruling coalitions forming partnerships with the AfD, whether nationally or regionally. Of the surveyed citizens, 46 percent believe this practice is correct, 41 percent believe it is wrong, and 13 percent remain undecided.
Yougov conducted the poll from May 8th to May 11th, interviewing 2,179 people.