Merz's Approval Rating Falls to Record-Low 13% in ARD-DeutschlandTrend Poll

The July 2026 ARD-DeutschlandTrend survey, conducted by Infratest dimap, found just 13% of respondents satisfied with Chancellor Friedrich Merz's work — down 3 points from June and the lowest rating recorded for any chancellor since Infratest dimap began tracking the metric for ARD in 1997. Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (SPD) fared only somewhat better at 21% approval, and only 13% of respondents were satisfied with the federal government overall. Roughly 84% of Germans expressed dissatisfaction with Merz's performance, including a majority of his own CDU supporters (51%). Pollsters and commentators linked the slide to prolonged economic stagnation, high energy costs, unresolved migration policy disputes, and the government's failure — until the reform package unveiled a day earlier — to deliver on campaign promises. The numbers landed just as the coalition tried to use its new 'Programme for Revival and Employment' to reverse the narrative ahead of September's high-stakes eastern state elections.