Markus Söder backs Friedrich Merz as poll shows 78% of Germans reject chancellor

Backing from the CSU leadership

Christian Social Union leader Markus Söder has publicly ruled out any move by his party to replace Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Speaking to Bild am Sonntag, Söder stated that replacing the head of government would not solve the coalition's underlying structural problems. He noted that any successor would face the same challenges with coalition partner SPD, which he argued is resisting necessary policy changes. Söder maintained that the Christian Democratic Union and the CSU must maintain unity rather than allowing the Alternative for Germany (AfD) to divide them.

I am not responsible for the CDU, I am not the chairman there. But for the CSU, I can say that.

Söder also urged the governing parties in Berlin to accelerate their economic and policy reforms rather than slowing them down following recent electoral setbacks.

Berlin must step up the pace significantly. The results so far are too thin, they are not enough.

Record polling lows and approval drop

The public defense follows an INSA survey commissioned by Bild showing that 78% of respondents in Germany do not consider Merz to be the right person for the chancellorship. Only 14% answered affirmatively, while 8% expressed no opinion. Dissatisfaction is also widespread within the conservative base, where 58% of CDU and CSU voters rejected Merz, compared with 36% who supported him. Merz's approval figures have declined steadily since mid-2025, when over 30% of surveyed voters expressed satisfaction with his performance.

Federal party preference data reflects this shift. In the latest INSA Sunday trend, the AfD expanded its lead to 29%, gaining one percentage point, while the CDU/CSU remained at 20%. The Greens rose to 14%, moving ahead of the SPD at 13%. Die Linke held at 10%, the FDP remained at 4%, and the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) slipped to 3%.

Internal party friction after state election defeat

Discontent inside the CDU expanded following the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, where the CDU dropped nearly 20 percentage points to 17.2%, while the AfD placed first with 43.8% and the SPD secured 9.3%. Dennis Radtke, head of the Christian Democratic employees' wing CDA, wrote in a letter on 11 September that Merz's strategy of running on a "CDU pure" platform had failed, calling for a change in content and communication. In Saxony, federal lawmaker Florian Oest demanded an immediate gathering of district party chairs to analyze whether the CDU can retain its status as a broad popular party. Marc Reinhardt, deputy parliamentary leader in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, warned of rising concerns among local campaigners that the party could fail to cross the 5% threshold in future races.

Pressure on coalition partners and the firewall

Leadership difficulties extend to coalition partner SPD, where an INSA survey found 51% of respondents do not consider co-party leader Lars Klingbeil the right leader, against 24% who support him. The polling also surveyed public views on the traditional political firewall against the AfD. While the Union maintains a formal resolution barring cooperation with the AfD, 46% of respondents described the firewall as outdated, compared with 34% who favor maintaining it and 20% who offered no response. In eastern German states, an RTL and ntv survey placed the AfD at 45%, ahead of Die Linke at 15% and the CDU at 12%. CDU General Secretary Franziska Hoppermann defended the federal government's policy path in an interview with Deutschlandfunk, acknowledging that falling poll numbers raise questions but stating that the party remains on course.