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Social Democrats reach all-time low

A poll released on Tuesday by German weekly Stern reveals that the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) continue to lose popularity, reaching an all-time low for the second time in two weeks at 22 percent.

Published: 18 March 2008 08:15 CET

Public support has been diminishing for the Social Democrats as it becomes more entrenched in controversy centred on a possible SPD partnership with the hard-line socialist Left Party. The poll, conducted by German association for social research Forsa, showed that SPD popularity sank one percentage point from last week, resulting in the lowest party approval rating Forsa has ever measured for the party.

Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered a loss of one point, though the party still remains 15 percentage points ahead of the SPD with support of 37 percent.

The pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) improved by one percent to reach a total of 11 percent. Meanwhile the Left Party rose to 14 percent, and the Greens stayed at 11 percent.

SPD party leader Kurt Beck was unable to stop further loss of his popularity, despite his reappearance after two weeks out sick. Only 12 percent of those polled said they would directly elect him as chancellor – one percentage point lower than last week, the poll reported. Only 35 percent of the SPD supporters polled said they would vote for him.

Some 58 percent of poll participants said they would reelect current Chancellor Merkel, including 22 percent of those who support the SPD.

Germany's Scholz rejects calls for later retirement in Labour Day message

“For me, it is a question of decency not to deny those who have worked for a long time the retirement they deserve,” said Scholz.

Employees in Germany worked more hours in 2023 than ever before: “That’s why it annoys me when some people talk disparagingly about ‘Germany’s theme park’ – or when people call for raising the retirement age,” he said.

Scholz also warned of creating uncertainty due to new debates about the retirement age. “Younger people who are just starting out in their working lives also have the right to know how long they have to work,” he said.

Scholz did not explicitly say who the criticism was targeted at, but at its party conference last weekend, the coalition partner FDP called for the abolition of pensions at 63 for those with long-term insurance, angering its government partners SPD and the Greens.

Scholz saw the introduction of the minimum wage nine years ago – and its increase to twelve euros per hour by his government – as a “great success”. “The proportion of poorly paid jobs in our country has shrunk as a result,” he said.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Is it worthwhile to set up a private pension plan in Germany?

However, he said there were still too many people “who work hard for too little money,” highlighting the additional support available through housing benefit, child allowance and the reduction of social security contributions for low earners.

“Good collective wage agreements also ensure that many employees finally have more money in their pockets again,” he added.

And he said that the country wouldn’t “run out of work” in the coming years.

“On the contrary! We need more workers,” he said, explaining that that’s why his government is ensuring “that those who fled to us from Russia’s war in Ukraine get work more quickly.”

Work means “more than making money,” said Scholz. “Work also means: belonging, having colleagues, experiencing recognition and appreciation.”

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