Olaf Scholz  under  German scrutiny in new poll

Admin I Friday, August 16, 2024

 

BERLIN – The majority of Germans are dissatisfied with the work of the government and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to survey results released on Thursday.

The poll of eligible voters found 62% said that the centre-left coalition was doing a poor job.

Meanwhile 58% of the respondents said they were dissatisfied with the chancellor, pointing to a lack of leadership. Some 76% said in the representative survey that Scholz had not shown leadership in recent weeks.

Germany’s government, led by Scholz’s Social Democrats (SPD) together with the Green Party and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), as the junior partner, has been plagued by low approval ratings.

Recently, the government made headlines with its dispute over the budget of Finance Minister Christian Lindner. The poll found 35% of respondents saw the FDP as the cause of the dispute.

However, just as many blamed the SPD, FDP and Greens equally for it. Despite the discord, 74% of respondents believe that the coalition will hold until the next election, due to be held in 2025.

The Mannheim Research Group Elections surveyed 1,334 people by telephone and online from August 12 to 14 for the representative poll.