A majority of Germans want Chancellor Friedrich Merz to resign, according to a new Forsa poll, as his conservative CDU party faces a series of poor election results.
The survey, conducted for broadcasters RTL and n-tv, found that 55% of respondents wanted Merz to step down, while 40% said he should remain chancellor. In eastern Germany, support for his resignation rose to 68%. Even among supporters of the CDU/CSU alliance, 21% said Merz should leave office.
The findings come days after another poll showed that almost half of Germans expected Merz to be replaced before the end of 2026.
87% dissatisfied with Merz's performance
Merz also received poor marks for his performance as chancellor, with just 11% of respondents saying they were satisfied, compared with 87% who said they were dissatisfied.
The poll follows heavy losses for the CDU in recent regional elections. In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 38.2% of the vote, while the CDU fell to a historic low of 4.9% and failed to enter the state parliament for the first time.
Merz acknowledged after the results that both his government's policies and his own role had contributed to the CDU's losses, while insisting that reforms needed to continue.
Voters cite everyday concerns
According to Forsa, 81% of respondents said the CDU/CSU's failure to address people's everyday concerns was a key reason for the party's decline.
Some 66% said Merz himself bore responsibility, while 64% cited the government's decision to take on new debt despite an election campaign pledge not to do so. A further 57% said the conservatives' government policies were not socially balanced.
In voting intentions, the AfD remained the strongest party at 27%, while the CDU/CSU stood at 20%, its lowest level in the survey. The Greens were on 17%, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Left Party each on 12%, the Free Democrats (FDP) on 4% and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) on 3%.
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