Friedrich Merz, the Chancellor of Germany, is facing a sharp decline in his popularity ahead of state elections. According to a new poll published by YouGov, 48% of the 1,611 adults surveyed predicted that Merz would no longer be Chancellor by the end of the year. In contrast, 31% believe he will remain in office, while 21% did not answer the question.
Poor Performance of the CDU in Recent Elections
This decline in popularity comes as Merz's party, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), performed very poorly in the recent regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt. In this election, the CDU garnered only 17% of the votes, while the far-right party “Alternative for Germany” (AfD) emerged as the main winner with over 44%.
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Pressure on the Government to Control Prices
The German coalition government is under pressure to take serious measures to control high gas prices before two state elections on Sunday. Manuela Schwesig, the Prime Minister of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, called for Friedrich Merz to quickly implement price caps in an interview on Friday. While Merz recently announced that assistance to reduce gas prices would be provided soon, the ruling coalition has yet to reach an agreement on this matter.
The CDU has resisted the SPD's request to impose price caps and tax the windfall profits of oil companies, instead proposing a fuel tax rebate plan. This plan, which was approved in the early months of the Iran war, ended in June.
Lars Klingbeil, SPD's Minister of Finance, has emphasized the need for price caps on gasoline and diesel, as well as a new tax on the windfall profits of oil companies for months. In a meeting with EU finance ministers in Dublin, he called for clear and swift signals at gas stations.
Gasoline and diesel prices have reached new record highs several times in recent weeks. On Thursday, the ADAC automobile club reported that the average price of diesel reached €2.47 per liter. This situation has made high fuel prices one of the hot political topics in Germany.
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