A recent survey indicates a significant erosion of public trust in CDU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn. The Forsa survey, conducted for German news magazine “Stern” and RTL Deutschland, reveals that 75% of German citizens view Spahn as lacking trustworthiness, with a negligible 2% expressing high levels of trust. An additional 18% consider him largely trustworthy, while 5% offered no opinion.
The findings, collected via telephone interviews with 1,008 participants on July 10th and 11th, follow a period of heightened scrutiny for Spahn. He has faced criticism regarding the procurement of protective masks during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been linked to the recent coalition crisis surrounding the departure of federal constitutional judges.
The survey highlighted a near-universal lack of trust from supporters of opposition parties. A substantial majority of supporters of The Left (89%), the AfD (86%), the Greens (84%) and even the coalition partner SPD (67%) expressed a distrust of Spahn.
Notably, the sentiment extends within Spahn’s own political base. A concerning 60% of CDU/CSU voters also express a lack of trust in the parliamentary group leader. Only 4% of those identifying with the CDU/CSU strongly trust him and just 33% consider him mostly trustworthy.
