Record two thirds of Germans unhappy with Chancellor Scholz: survey

22 Aug, 2022

BERLIN: Around two thirds of Germans are unhappy with the work of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his fractious coalition, which has faced crisis after crisis since taking office in December, according to a survey published on Sunday.

Only 25 % of Germans believe the Social Democrat is doing his job well, down from 46% in March, according to the poll by Insa for “Bild am Sonntag” weekly newspaper.

By contrast 62 % of Germans think Scholz - who was deputy chancellor under veteran conservative leader Angela Merkel in the previous ruling coalition - is doing his job badly, a record number, compared to just 39% in March.

Since taking power, Scholz has had to deal with the war in Ukraine, an energy crisis, soaring inflation and now drought - all pushing Europe’s largest economy to the brink of a recession. Critics have accused him of not showing sufficient leadership.

Support for his Social Democratic Party (SPD) stood at just 19%, the Insa survey showed, well behind the opposition conservatives and junior coalition partners the Greens, and below the 25.7% the SPD took in the federal election last year.

Around 65% of Germans are unhappy with the work of Germany’s three-way coalition government as a whole, compared with 43 % in March.

The poll comes after a particularly tough week for Scholz.

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