GERMANY – A new poll on Wednesday revealed that the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz coalition government is losing voter confidence.

Trust in conservative leader Merz fell to 32% in December – down six percentage points from 38% when his conservative-left coalition government took office in May 2025 – according to the representative poll conducted by the Forsa research institute.

Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats (SPD) also saw his confidence rating drop from 41% in May to a 36% in the December poll.

Even Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, long regarded as Germany‘s most popular politician, experienced a decline. His trust rating fell by five percentage points to 57% compared to May 2025.

The coalition government has faced mounting internal tensions in recent months. Merz’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance and coalition partner SPD have clashed over migration policy, military service reform, pension reforms, and budget priorities – disputes that have raised questions among voters about the government’s ability to govern effectively.

The coalition’s declining approval was also reflected in party support polling. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has surged to 26% in the latest Forsa poll – overtaking all other parties to become Germany’s strongest political force.

Merz’s conservatives (CDU/CSU), who won February’s snap election with 28.5%, have fallen to 24% – down one percentage point from the previous week. The Social Democrats dropped to 14%, well below their 16.4% election performance. The Greens registered 12% support, while the socialist Left Party stood at 11%.

Chancellor Merz‘s coalition faces a critical political test in 2026 with state parliamentary elections scheduled in five federal states. Baden-Wurttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate vote in March, followed by Saxony-Anhalt in June, and Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in September.