"A chancellor's task is to use conciliatory rhetoric that is capable of building bridges", say communication experts. Is this exactly Merz's problem? Why does the German chancellor have such a low approval rating?
"The figures are dramatic. There are no two opinions on this issue." This is how public opinion researcher Stefan Merz from the Infratest dimap sociological institute commented on the record low rating of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Never before has a sitting head of government in Germany had a worse result in the polls.
For several weeks, the rating of the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has been even lower than that of his predecessor, the Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, at the end of his coalition government with the Greens and the Free Democrats. Today, only one in six people in Germany is satisfied with Merz's work as head of government.
The decline under him occurred much faster than under his predecessors, says the sociologist from Infratest dimap. Compared to Angela Merkel, the current German Chancellor "is not a person who captivates people," he added.
"Merz wants to be a chancellor of reforms, not consensus"
Clarifying that he has no family relationship with the Chancellor, Schäfer Merz also says that Friedrich Merz probably "does not expect to get a rating of 60 or 70 percent at all". He wants to be a "chancellor of reforms", not a "chancellor of consensus", the sociologist points out.
As early as May last year, approval of Chancellor Merz's work was "very low", after which his rating rose slightly over the next 2-3 months. And then a serious coalition dispute broke out over the candidate for the Federal Constitutional Court, whose appointment was blocked by the CDU/CSU.
Stefan Merz points to conflicting topics such as migration, the dispute over pension reform, and the heated debate between the chancellor and Federal Minister of Labor Berbel Bass of the Social Democratic Party. But he specifies that this is not just about him personally, but about the entire federal government. "Which is catastrophic", adds the sociologist.
Rhetoric expert sees "unprofessionalism" in Merz
Tübingen university lecturer and professor of rhetoric Olaf Kramer is even more critical: he sees "a certain unprofessionalism" in Merz's behavior. He does not seem to realize that "the statements he makes as chancellor carry a different weight than what he could have said before as a private person. Accordingly, the consequences of this are very different," says Kramer.
He refers to a statement by the chancellor from October 2025, when at a press conference in Berlin Merz linked "problems in the urban landscape" to deportations and migration. After massive criticism, he clarified that he was referring to migrants without the right to reside and work "who do not comply with the rules valid in Germany". They determine the appearance of, for example, train stations, the subway, parks or entire neighborhoods.
But the statement about the "urban landscape" was not the only statement by the chancellor that met with widespread resistance. Even as leader of the opposition, he called children from families with a migrant background "little pashas" and complained about "social tourism" of Ukrainian refugees, which brought him closer to the tone of right-wing populists and the far right. And some of his statements have created tension between Merz and other leaders, such as the US president or the Brazilian president.
Despite the enormous skepticism, Stefan Merz believes that change is possible. He recalls what happened with Gerhard Schröder, the German chancellor from 1998 to 2005: when he was re-elected in 2005, the Social Democrat had 60 percent approval, then it dropped to around 25 percent, only to rise again to around 50 percent at the end of his term. With Chancellor Merkel, the dynamics followed similar fluctuations, recalls the sociologist from Infratest dimap.
According to him, there is still a lot of time until the end of the current government term, which means there is room for maneuver. But that's why Merz's government needs to "work more efficiently and quietly and create the feeling that things are going in the right direction."
"With Merz, we are used to decisive measures being announced, but then not being followed by the corresponding political action. People are noticing this discrepancy, which has been observed so far," says rhetoric professor Kramer. "This contradiction between words and deeds is something that can cause very lasting damage to the credibility of a speaker," he emphasizes, specifying that the same applies to Merz's ministers.
The Federal Chancellor needs "conciliatory rhetoric"
Kramer also calls for another necessary change. "When you are chancellor, you are the chancellor of the Germans, not just the representative of your own party, as is the case with the opposition leader."
"The task of a chancellor is precisely to use conciliatory rhetoric that is capable of building bridges," he adds. And he says that Merz must change precisely that.