Two thirds of Germans are dissatisfied with the traffic light government

After the first year of the traffic light coalition, two-thirds of Germans are dissatisfied with the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 33 percent were rather dissatisfied and another 33 percent were very dissatisfied with the work of the alliance of SPD, Greens and FDP. On the other hand, only 3 percent are very satisfied, and 23 percent are rather satisfied.

Chancellor Scholz’s (SPD) cabinet was sworn in a year ago this Thursday. The voters of the coalition parties assess the work of the government very differently. While a majority of 56 percent in the Green camp is satisfied, it is only 24 percent among FDP voters. Among the SPD supporters, the satisfied and the dissatisfied are about equal, at 48 to 47 percent.

In the poll, the chancellor comes off only slightly better than the entire government. 64 percent are dissatisfied with their work, 29 percent are satisfied. Scholz clearly loses the comparison with his predecessor. A majority of 51 percent sees Angela Merkel (CDU) as the better chancellor. Only 19 percent think Scholz is the better head of government. Even among the SPD voters, sympathies for Merkel predominate at 39 to 37 percent.

The Greens are most likely to be seen as the winners of the first traffic light year. 28 percent of those surveyed believe that they would have implemented their policy best in the coalition. 23 percent believe that the SPD had the greatest influence on the traffic light policy and only 19 percent see the ideas of the FDP as the most likely to be realized.

Despite all the dissatisfaction with the traffic light, only a minority of 31 percent believe that the coalition will break up prematurely. On the other hand, 47 percent say it will remain in place until the next federal election in 2025. The voters of the coalition parties have particularly high confidence in the staying power of the traffic light. 74 percent of Green voters believe the coalition will last until 2025, 62 percent of SPD supporters and 58 percent of FDP supporters.

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