The German government, even after announcing a package of reforms, remains unable to break out of its ongoing decline in opinion polls.

According to the latest “Trend Barometer” on RTL and n-tv, 82% of citizens are dissatisfied with the performance of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government, compared to 18% who expressed satisfaction.

German citizens' assessment of Chancellor Merz's performance was worse than their assessment of the government. The survey results, on which the “Trend Barometer” program is based, showed that the proportion of those dissatisfied with the performance of the leader of the German Christian Democratic Union reached 85%, compared to only 14% satisfied.

The satisfaction rate with the performance of Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, who is also leader of the Social Democratic Party, was slightly better at 18%, compared to 74% who were dissatisfied.

The ruling coalition in Germany includes the Christian Union (which itself consists of Merz's Christian Democratic Union and its smaller sister party, the Bavarian Christian Social Union) and the Social Democratic Party.

According to the survey, a majority of supporters of the governing coalition parties themselves are dissatisfied with the government's performance; among Christian Union supporters, the dissatisfaction rate reached 54% compared to 46% satisfied.

Among Social Democratic supporters, the dissatisfaction rate reached 72%, while only 28% were satisfied.

The representative survey, on which the “Trend Barometer” program is based, was conducted by the “Forsa” opinion research institute on behalf of the media group “RTL Deutschland”.

The German governing coalition has been suffering from a continuous decline in opinion polls for some time, despite currently working on a series of reforms.

Last Friday, it passed through both the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and the Federal Council (Bundesrat) a law to reduce expenses of statutory health insurance funds, along with what is known as the building modernization law, which includes new heating regulations.

The government intends to implement all recommendations of the pension system reform committee, along with the agreement between the Christian Union and the Social Democratic Party on a reform package that includes tax relief for low- and middle-income earners starting in 2027, as well as measures related to the labor market and reducing bureaucracy.