Merz approval falls to record low after CDU state election losses

October 2, 2026 at 04:31 PM2 min

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Chancellor Friedrich Merz's approval rating dropped to 10 percent, the lowest for any German chancellor since 1997, according to an ARD survey released Thursday. The CDU failed to enter the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and finished second in Berlin, while the AfD won in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt.

Key Facts

An ARD survey published Thursday found only 10 percent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's work, the lowest figure since the survey began in 1997.
The CDU failed to clear the 5 percent threshold in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's state election on September 20, the first time the party has missed the state parliament since 1949.
The AfD won the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania election with more than a third of the vote, and earlier won Saxony-Anhalt with over 40 percent.
In Berlin's state election, The Left party came first with 25.7 percent of the vote, ahead of the CDU.

Election Setbacks

The CDU crashed out of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after failing to clear the 5 percent threshold, marking the first such failure since the Federal Republic of Germany was founded in 1949. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) came first in that state with more than a third of the vote. In Berlin's state elections held the same day, the CDU finished second behind The Left party, which won 25.7 percent of the vote. Two weeks earlier, the AfD won the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt with more than 40 percent of the vote, compared with 17 percent for the CDU.

Merz Under Pressure

Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania results a disaster in a televised statement at party headquarters, but said he would remain as party chairman and chancellor. The ARD survey released Thursday showed only one in ten respondents satisfied or very satisfied with his work, the lowest figure for any chancellor since the survey began in 1997. Wolfgang Schroeder, a professor of political science at the University of Kassel, said the CDU has no attractive replacement for Merz, leaving the party without an alternative. Under Germany's Constitution, the Bundestag can replace a chancellor only by simultaneously electing a successor with an absolute majority.