Germans support snap polls as government approval plummets: Survey

BERLIN

A majority of Germans support early elections amid growing dissatisfaction with Chancellor Olaf Scholz's left-liberal coalition government, according to a new survey by public broadcaster ARD.

The poll, released Thursday night, found that 54% of respondents favor snap polls, while 41% prefer the current government to continue until the next scheduled election, set for September 2025.

Approval for Chancellor Scholz’s coalition government has plummeted to 14%, a 5 percentage point drop since early October. An overwhelming 85% of the respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the government's performance.

The survey found that 83% of those polled were concerned about economic and fiscal policies, and criticized the persistent disagreements between the coalition partners: the pro-environment Greens party and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP).

The Greens advocate more spending on climate protection and social welfare, while the fiscally conservative FDP pushes for strict adherence to debt limits. Disagreements among the coalition partners led to protracted budget negotiations and delays in critical policy implementations.

The latest poll strongly suggests that the coalition partners would not be in a position to form a government if elections were held this Sunday.

In the poll, voter support for Chancellor Scholz’s Social Democrat Party (SPD) remained steady at 16%, while their coalition partner, the Greens, dropped to 11%. The junior coalition partner, the FDP, was at 4%, below the 5% threshold needed to win parliamentary seats

Germany's main opposition, the conservative alliance of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU), was favored by 34% of respondents. Support for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) was at 17%, making it the country’s second-biggest party.