Germans' dissatisfaction with ruling coalition at record high, poll shows

Weekly German cabinet meeting in Berlin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz attends the cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, June 12, 2024. REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben
Source: REUTERS

Germans' dissatisfaction with ruling coalition at record high, poll shows

German voters' dissatisfaction with the ruling coalition has hit a record high, a poll published by national broadcaster ZDF showed on Thursday, after all the coalition parties showed weak results during the European election last week.

Among 1,334 participants of the survey held on June 10-12, 71% said they were dissatisfied with the government's work, up from 66% in May.

About 51% of the polled spoke out in favour of an early election, while 66% still believe that the coalition will last until the end of its tenure next year.

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All three parties in Germany's ruling coalition suffered losses in EU parliamentary elections, an early indicator for the national vote, while the far-right Alternative for Germany made solid gains. The results for traditional parties such as Chancellor Olaf Scholz's social-democrat SPD show Germans' discontent with falling living standards in Europe's largest economy, as the government deals with the energy crisis sparked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An even weaker result in the EU vote prompted French President Emmanuel Macron to call a snap election after being outpaced by the far right.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.