A poll has shown that about 47% of people in Germany would like to see an end to the current ruling coalition of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
YouGov survey conducted for the weekly sunday world It revealed that 38% would like new elections after the coalition’s dissolution, while 9% want Merz’s minority government of Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) to remain in power.
Overall, 30% of respondents are in favor of continuing the alliance, with 24% undecided or responding “don’t know”.
The survey shows a split in the popularity ratings of the coalition between the East and West German states, with 46% in East Germany wanting its end, while 35% in West Germany want it to end.
Only 22% of people in East Germany wanted the coalition, which took power in May last year, to remain in place, while 31% in West Germany wanted it to remain.
Merz, who has enjoyed a popularity rating of less than 16% in recent polls, acknowledged on Friday that the coalition could do with fewer internal disputes.
“It may be that we are struggling too much at the moment and not producing enough results. It could be possible,” he told an audience marking the 104th German Catholic Day in the southern city of Wurzburg.
Meraz’s government has struggled to find common ground on a number of issues, including social security and labor reform, energy policy and, most recently, ways to relieve consumers from rising costs due to the Iran war.