German government support hits historic low as AfD rises to top spot

A public opinion poll conducted by INSA and published by Bild on December 6 showed that support for the German government, which took office in May, has fallen to a historic low.

Almost 70% of survey participants said they were not satisfied with the government’s work.

Only 21% of voters found the actions of the coalition consisting of the CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) positive.

Satisfaction with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s personal performance followed the same trend in the study.

Only 23% of participants found Merz’s work sufficient, while 68% expressed dissatisfaction.

INSA Director Hermann Binkert evaluated these results with the words, “these are the worst indicators ever recorded for a chancellor and his government.”

AfD is rising

According to INSA’s December 6 data, the CDU/CSU and SPD are not in the leading position in party rankings either. The poll showed that the main opposition force in Germany, the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), took first place with 26%.

The CDU/CSU led by Merz is in second place with 25%, while the SPD fell to third place with 15%.

Controversial pension reform was accepted a day earlier

On December 5, the Merz government passed the pension reform, which caused intense discussions, through the Bundestag. According to the reform, the pension rate is fixed at a level of at least 48% of the average salary until 2031.

If the regulation had not been made, pension salaries were expected to fall starting from the beginning of 2026. The accepted law will ensure the average pension salary remains at the level of approximately 1500 euros.

While the working population in Germany decreases, the number of retirees increases every year. According to the text, this picture shows that the pension system can only survive with state contributions.

For example, it is planned to allocate public resources amounting to 128 billion euros for the system in 2026.

Although the reform was criticized by the CDU’s youth wing, maintaining the current rate was seen as an indispensable topic for the SPD.

Following discussions within the CDU/CSU, the bill was accepted with the support of 319 deputies.

According to documents published by Germany’s Federal Statistical Office, the country’s economy shrank by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2025 compared to the previous quarter.

The expectation was for a contraction of 0.1%. A contraction at the same rate occurred in the first quarter of 2025. In 2024, before Merz took office, the German economy had shrunk by 0.2% on an annual basis.