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Germans' dissatisfaction with Merz hits record high of 72% — survey

The low ratings of the ruling coalition and the chancellor are due not only to the ongoing discussions over Friedrich Merz's statements about migration, but also to the state of the country's economy

BERLIN, October 28. /TASS/. Germans' dissatisfaction with the work of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (Christian Democratic Union, CDU) has hit a record of 72%, the highest since he took office in May, according to a public opinion poll conducted by the Forsa sociological service commissioned by RTL and N-tv.

It increased by three percentage points from the previous week. Only 25% of the respondents are satisfied with Merz’ work, which is two percentage points less than a week ago.

Only among the CDU and CSU supporters the majority (72%) is satisfied with the chancellor. The voters of the rest of Germany's political forces are mostly dissatisfied.

The low ratings of the ruling coalition and the chancellor are due not only to the ongoing discussions over Merz's statements about migration, but also to the state of the country's economy. The share of those who expect the economic situation to worsen increased by five percentage points to 66%. The number of those who expect improvement decreased by three percentage points to 14%. Another 19% of the respondents assume that the situation will remain unchanged (two percentage points less than in the previous week).

The survey was conducted from October 21 to October 27 among 2,502 people.

On October 14, Merz said that the government was correcting previous migration policy mistakes and had made great progress in solving the problem. However, according to him, this problem still exists in the cities, which is why Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt is organizing and conducting large-scale deportations.

On October 20, the chancellor refused to answer a question what exactly he meant, but recommended that those who asked contact their daughters to get a clear and precise answer. Merz's statements provoked condemnation and criticism from both politicians and the public. Many considered his words "racist and discriminatory," and protests were held in some German cities. According to a Forsa survey, 46% of Germans agree that Merz's statements "incite prejudice against refugees," while 52% reject this.

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