8 out of 10 Germans Dissatisfied with Merz – AfD Surges in Polls

The national conservative and immigration-critical AfD reaches 30 percent in INSA’s latest poll for the German newspaper Bild. At the same time, the Christian Democrats and CSU, the parties behind Chancellor Friedrich Merz, fall to 18 percent. This is the lowest level the institute has ever recorded for the Union, and also the first time AfD has reached 30 percent in their polls.

In the Bundestag election in February 2025, the Union, consisting of the CDU and CSU, received 28.5 percent while the AfD took home 20.8 percent. Since then, much has changed in several opinion polls.

The latest survey from INSA was conducted from September 28 to October 2 and includes 1,202 eligible voters. Compared to INSA’s previous poll on September 29, AfD went up by half a percentage point and the CDU/CSU dropped by one.

The Social Democrats and the Greens are both at 14 percent each. The leftist party Die Linke remains at 10.

The Left Party Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW and the Liberal FDP are at 4 percent and do not pass the five percent threshold.

Together, the governing parties, the Union and SPD, only reach 32 percent, less than a third of the voters.

Almost no one is satisfied with Merz

In a separate part of the survey, conducted from October 1 to 2 with 1,001 people, 15 percent are satisfied with Chancellor Merz’s work. 79 percent are dissatisfied.

For the government, 14 percent are satisfied and 79 percent dissatisfied. Both numbers are the weakest INSA has ever measured, reports Tagesspiegel.

“The Union and SPD will no longer be able to reverse this negative trend in any significant way,” said INSA’s head Hermann Binkert.

Focuses on Ukraine

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s coalition between the CDU and CSU still rules out cooperation with the AfD. At the same time, Merz is pressured by weak support at home that continues to plunge.

Instead, over the weekend, he has focused on Ukraine and is on a surprise visit to Kyiv, where he is meeting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and is expected to present additional German support. Upon arrival, the message was clear.

“You can count on our continued support.” Merz also says that Ukraine faces crucial weeks and warns that Russia’s war machine sooner or later could turn against Germany if it is not stopped, as he told Reuters and also posted on social media.

The money is needed in Germany

AfD leader Alice Weidel criticized Merz’s trip to Ukraine. On Germany’s National Day, the day of German unity, she wrote that the Chancellor traveled to Ukraine and promised further billions in German taxpayers’ money.

According to Weidel, the money is needed instead for pensions and health insurance, while Germany is experiencing a deep energy crisis.