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Merkel still ‘most popular politician’ in Germany

Chancellor Angela Merkel is still Germany's top politician and her party is doing very well too, according to a new survey.

Published: 26 June 2020 16:56 CEST

Merkel still 'most popular politician' in Germany

Angela Merkel on June 24th. Photo: DPA

Merkel's handling of the coronavirus crisis has been praised across the world. And it appears it's also being recognised by voters in Germany.

Merkel's party, the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), and its Bavarian sister party the CSU, increased in popularity among voters to 40 percent, according to a new poll – the highest amount in almost three years.

The CDU and CSU last achieved a similarly strong figure in August 2017, before the federal election campaign began. During this time, the Union managed to gain 32.9 percent.

In the latest ZDF 'Politbarometer' published on Friday, the Union's new result was an improvement by one percent compared to previous weeks.

The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) remain at 15 percent, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) at nine percent, and the Left Party (die Linke) at seven percent. The Greens lost one point, gaining 19 percent.

And the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) gained one point to log five percent.

Meanwhile, Merkel remains by far the most popular politician in Germany. On a scale of plus five to minus five, she improved slightly to 2.6 points, followed by CSU leader Markus Söder with 1.9, and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) with 1.8.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) gained ground and passed North Rhine-Westphalia's state premier, Armin Laschet. The candidate for the CDU chief position lost points slightly, landing at 0.5.

Overwhelming majority for stricter laws for slaughterhouses

Meanwhile, according to the survey, the vast majority of citizens in Germany are in favour of stricter regulation of slaughterhouses, even if this results in higher prices of meat.

A huge 92 percent of those surveyed would support stricter industry laws, according to the ZDF poll. However, only 55 percent of those questioned believed that citizens were generally prepared to spend more money on meat.

Following several outbreaks of coronavirus in meat processing plants, cheap prices for meat products in supermarkets and working conditions in industry are under massive criticism.

Doubts over new app

The new coronavirus app has been downloaded millions of times – but according to the survey, confidence in its effectiveness is relatively low.

Only 38 percent believe that this app will make a major contribution to limiting the pandemic in Germany, the ZDF survey shows.

Supporters of the Greens (62 percent), the FDP (70 percent) and the AfD (90 percent) are particularly critical of the app.

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Anonymous - 29 June 2020 at 10:22 CEST

ZDF ‘Politbarometer’ – what a joke

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Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.