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    German Chancellor Merz the most unpopular head of government, survey shows
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    German Chancellor Merz the most unpopular head of government, survey shows

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    1. BendicantMias on

      >German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has the lowest approval rating among 24 democratically elected world leaders, with just 19% of Germans saying they are satisfied with his work, according to US-based opinion research institute Morning Consult.

      >French President Emmanuel Macron ranked second-lowest, with 18% approval and 75% disapproval, in the survey, which tracks leaders’ popularity across major democracies.

      >However, Merz recorded the highest disapproval rate at 76%, while 19% of respondents said they were satisfied with his work. A recent survey conducted by Forsa on behalf of RTL produced similar results, with 78% of respondents dissatisfied with Merz’s work and 20% satisfied.

      >According to the survey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ranked in the lower half of the mid-range. Around a third (36%) said they were satisfied with his political work, while exactly half (50%) of Turkish respondents disapproved.

      >US President Donald Trump ranked just ahead of Erdoğan in 10th place from the bottom, despite launching military operations in Iran. Some 38% of Americans said they were satisfied with his work, while 57% were dissatisfied.

      >Also in the mid-range were Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (38% in favour to 57% against), Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (39% to 55%) and Argentina’s President Javier Milei (48% to 49%).

      >With his poor ratings, Merz has now fallen below former Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Even at his lowest point, Scholz was significantly more popular than Merz, according to surveys.

      >In mid-June 2024, 28% of respondents said they approved of Scholz’s work as chancellor, while 67% rated it as poor.

      >The highest approval rating went to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (70%), followed by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung (63%) and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (55%).

    4. Nurnurum on

      And he really worked hard for that position. Universally disliked across the board.

      A politician with a spine would see this and make the only sensible decision and at least ask for a vote of confidence. But I guess hell freezes over before that is happening…

    5. dawn_eu on

      No shit. People already knew that he’s dogshit yet German boomers keep voting for him and his incompetent party.

    6. 2022_Yooda on

      OK sure, but don’t these low approval ratings partly just reflect worsening political fragmentation in Western European countries?

      I’d expect approval ratings to be lower in multi-party democracies than in two-party democracies, and with the largest parties getting smaller, you can expect fewer and fewer people to feel the head of government is ‘on their side’.

      Not saying I like him of course. But from the outside, he hasn’t done anything bizarre to his country or to the world yet. Count your blessings..

    12. Raz0rking on

      Oh noes. How?

      He only calls the general population lazy, wants do cut back sovial security and worker protections. He also thinks that work life balance is seen as way to important. But how can that be that hes so disliked?

    13. EURSTYLE on

      Unpop op incoming: look, I get why this guy is not likeable. He’s boring, he’s conservative, he’s old, and there’s a lot he could do better.

      But honestly, seeing everyone calling people like him (or Macron, or Starmer, etc.) “total fucking shit and the worst of the worst” is just irritating. Are you guys even *looking* at what’s going on out there? Do you see what people like Trump, Xi, Modi, Erdogan are doing to their countries? And *this* guy is the most hated ruler out there???

      Yeah, I would also much prefer to be ruled by the love-child of Justinian the Great and Joan of Arc, but the truth is that this is what democracy looks like: boring, dislikeable bureaucrats stumbling through a difficult job, and honestly I find it kind of sad to see people spitting on it while eating from its plate.

    18. Ok_Repeat6406 on

      The guy who wants to know our names online and told Germans to work harder, then got humiliated in front of Trump? It would be more surprising if he were actually popular, to be honest.

    20. sojuicy on

      He doesn’t care. He’s chancellor after all. His wife is perfect for him. Both are probably sitting down for some meaty dinner and complain how ungrateful the general german public is for all the hard work they’re doing.

    22. Thomski_ on

      As someone from the Netherlands, you’d think we would be fairly informed about Germany. Somehow Merz has managed to be completely anonymous. If you wake up in the middle of the night I’d say Angela Merkel is the chancellor of Germany.

    23. Denova_Vendetta on

      We could’ve had a 2nd term of Scholz or a Habeck leaded SPD-Greens coalition.

    28. Skarvig on

      I think it’s not really ALL his fault. Yes, he says that we are all lazy and should work more, which obviously didn’t help his ratings. And, yes, while in opposition he was just telling people that he would do everything different, and now in office, he realises that the system we have, doesn’t really let you do anything different. But, the bigger problem lies with us germans. For anyone who doesn’t understand why, let me paint you a picture.

      Imagine your going out to get some ice cream. You don’t like chocolate, it’s a bit bitter and you enjoy more fruity flavour. What do you get? Correct. Chocolate. You didn’t like that very much and think, there needs to be something else you shoud try. So next time you go and get some ice cream, what flavour do you get? Correct. Chocolate. Again you really didn’t enjoy your visit to the ice cream shop. Too bitter, you crave some fruity tones. And whose fault is it? Yes, obviously the family that sits at the other table. Fast forward 20 years of eating choclate, you notice they offer dark chocolate. A refined, more bitter ice cream. You seriously entertain the tought of ordering that next.

      You see Friedrich “Leck Eier” Merz, is just giving people what the vote for. Hope this helps.

    31. GoldustRapedMyDad on

      And the latest poll puts the CDU behind by the AFD by 4 points! (27% AfD vs 23% CDU)

    32. KP6fanclub on

      Can it be that Germans expect some miracle improvement faster than it actually takes to mend the mistakes from the past?

      Merkel bet all-inn on Russian gas and this has become now evident that Germany depends on Russia more than it should.
      Pushing heavy on 0 pollution economy while closing down nuclear was the same as to shoot your self in the leg before the 1500m run.

      The longer Ukraine war goes, the weaker Germany (Europe) becomes and Russia likes that.

    35. -Vermilion- on

      Wow, who would’ve thought. Any time he opens his mouth it’s 100% some idiotic ragebait.

    38. Blautopf on

      He is currupt, incompetant, dull, weak and spineless.

      Put into power by currupt politicians so they can keep lining their pockets. He only won because shultz was worse.

      The political class is destroying democracy and using the AFD to do it. Basically they are saying allow us to destroy the economy slowely, whilst we line our pockets or watch them fuck everything fast whilst they steal everything that is not nailed down.