The AfD now leads the Union in the new ZDF “Political Barometer”. According to the survey released Friday morning, if a federal election were held this Sunday, the AfD would remain steady at 26 percent. Meanwhile, the CDU/CSU loses a point, dropping to 25 percent. The Left Party sees a recovery, climbing back up to eleven percent. The SPD and the Greens each lose one percentage point, standing at 12 percent and 14 percent, respectively. The FDP gains three percent, with all other parties collectively accounting for nine percent.
Furthermore, the performance of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and his cabinet is rated by respondents as poorly as it has ever been since they took office. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed also do not expect the federal government to make an important contribution to solving Germany’s problems.
Opinions are divided regarding the fuel discount, but roughly nine in ten respondents feel that this discount is not being passed on to consumers by the oil conglomerates. A narrow majority agrees with the crisis bonus of 1,000 euros, yet overall, about 80 percent of Germans believe that the federal government is not doing enough to combat rising energy prices. Moreover, roughly three-quarters of respondents rate the cooperation within the federal government as “rather poor”. Only Merz’s withdrawal from participation in the Iran War receives widespread support, with over 90 percent believing that Germany should not militarily support the US in the conflict against Iran.
