'Record Low' Chancellor Scholz Approval Rating at 18%
The approval rating of Germany's 'traffic light' coalition government, composed of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Green Party, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), continues to hit record lows.
According to a survey conducted by polling agency Infratest Dimap on the 3rd and 4th of this month (local time), only 16% of respondents expressed satisfaction with the federal government's administration, marking the lowest level since the coalition's formation in December 2021. Looking further back, this is the lowest rating in 14 years since August 2010 (16%).
By political affiliation, 63% of supporters of the center-left SPD, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, expressed dissatisfaction with the government's performance. Supporters of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were 100% dissatisfied, and 98% of supporters of the radical left party B?ndnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW) also expressed dissatisfaction.
The approval rating for Chancellor Scholz himself also dropped to 18%, the lowest since his inauguration. This is only about one-third of the 53% approval rating for SPD Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who is mentioned as a potential future chancellor candidate. Scholz's approval rating was even lower than that of AfD co-leader Alice Weidel (20%) and BSW co-leader Sahra Wagenknecht (28%).
The issue of immigrants, including Ukrainian refugees, was identified as a key factor dragging down the coalition's approval ratings. Half of the respondents named immigration and refugee issues as the most urgent political challenges to be addressed. This proportion rose sharply from 26% in April to 48% earlier this month, just five months later. Furthermore, 77% of respondents said that refugee policies need to be fundamentally changed.
The traffic light coalition has already been embroiled in internal conflicts over major policies such as immigration and refugees. Wolfgang Kubicki, Vice President of the Bundestag and a member of the pro-business center-right FDP, threatened to leave the coalition, stating, "If there are no changes in refugee and economic policies, the coalition will not last until the end of the year."
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