Support for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s governing conservative bloc has fallen to its lowest level in nearly five years, with the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) opening an eight-point lead, according to a new INSA poll commissioned by Bild am Sonntag.
The survey of 1,203 people, conducted from August 10 to 14, put the CDU/CSU at 20%, down one point and its weakest INSA showing since October 2021, while the AfD held steady at 28%.
The Greens registered 13%, with the governing Social Democrats and the Left both on 12%, the FDP on 5% and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance on 3%. Combined support for the CDU/CSU and SPD government stood at 32%, just four points ahead of the AfD alone.
The coalition has faced mounting dissatisfaction amid economic stagnation and disputes over taxation, welfare, spending and promised reforms. The poll found only 16% of respondents were satisfied with Merz’s performance, compared with 78% who were dissatisfied, while four in five disapproved of the federal government’s performance.
INSA director Hermann Binkert described the figures as an unprecedented combination of weak support and strong rejection and questioned whether the government could reverse the trend.
The results follow an anti-government demonstration involving around 10,000 people in Plauen, where protesters called for early elections, lower energy costs and changes to migration, healthcare and military policies. The AfD’s 28% national support is also substantially above the 20.8% it received in the February 2025 federal election, while the party is polling particularly strongly ahead of regional elections in eastern Germany, including around 41% in Saxony-Anhalt and 36% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
