According to a survey conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa, commissioned by RTL and ntv, only a quarter of German citizens believe the federal government is capable of reviving the economy in Germany. The “trend barometer” revealed that 27 percent expect a successful economic turnaround; this represents a drop of nine percentage points compared to August 2025. Conversely, 70 percent do not trust this outlook, up from 61 percent one year prior.
Skepticism is particularly high in the eastern states, where 81 percent do not anticipate an economic recovery driven by the government, compared to 68 percent in the west. This lack of confidence is also evident among working populations, with 75 percent expressing reservations, and even higher among the self-employed at 81 percent.
When examining voter demographics, only a narrow majority of 56 percent among supporters of the CDU and CSU expressed faith in the black-red coalition’s ability to achieve an economic turnaround. Support drops significantly among other groups: 48 percent of SPD supporters, 34 percent of Greens supporters, 16 percent of Left party supporters, and only 1 percent of AfD supporters.
The poll surveyed 1,008 individuals on August 21 and 24.
