Merz starts with foreign policy success: Germans are optimistic!

Merz starts with foreign policy success: Germans are optimistic!

Paris, Frankreich - Friedrich Merz (CDU) was elected as the new Chancellor in the second ballot and gives a strong foreign policy signal right at the beginning of his term. Already in the first few days he undertook a comprehensive tour tour that included Paris, Warsaw, Brussels and Kiev. Merz places special emphasis on the Franco-German relationship and criticized his predecessor Olaf Scholz (SPD) for his inadequate efforts in this area, especially in the relationship with President Emmanuel Macron. This was evaluated differently by the population, as current surveys show.

According to a Forsa survey carried out on May 8th and 9th, 58 percent of German Merz 'diplomatic engagement evaluate positively. In particular, 92 percent of the Union supporters support their foreign policy initiatives. The voters of the SPD and the Greens are also very positive: 72 percent of the SPD voters and 69 percent of the Greens supporters are behind their foreign policy. Skeptic tones, on the other hand, come from the AfD and the left, where 73 percent of the AfD voters and 60 percent of the left supporters doubt their skills. Especially in East Germany, trust in Merz’s skills is low: only 45 percent believe that he represents Germany well abroad, while 48 percent reject this view.

public opinion and challenges

The opinions about Merz are not uniform. 37 percent of the respondents express doubts about his skills as a chancellor, while five percent have no opinion. This mixed picture is particularly relevant because Merz had to struggle with falling survey values ​​before his choice. Despite these doubts, there are also positive trends: an INSA survey shows that the expectations regarding their own financial situation have improved slightly under the new coalition. 15 percent of the respondents believe that their financial situation will improve under Merz - an increase compared to 10 percent in April. At the same time, 43 percent of those surveyed expect economic growth where the value was 33 percent in April.

On the other hand, 47 percent believe that nothing will change in their financial situation, while the proportion of those who fear deterioration has dropped from 51 percent to 28 percent. The new federal government faces the challenge of creating concrete action and results from symbol policy. The expectations are high and the citizens look forward to the coming time while critically observing Merz's first steps as Chancellor.