Almost half of citizens expect the government to end prematurely

According to a survey, people in Germany are increasingly dissatisfied with the work of the federal government. In the Sunday trend, which the polling institute INSA conducts weekly for "Bild am Sonntag," 66 percent of respondents view the government's work critically. This represents an increase of three percent compared to the previous survey on October 10, 2025.

According to the survey, 25 percent of respondents are still satisfied (down three points). 49 percent expect the current federal government to not last the entire legislative period until 2029. However, 32 percent believe the coalition will last until 2029.

According to the poll, the AfD remains the strongest party with 26 percent (-1), despite a slight loss. The CDU/CSU also lost one point and would reach 24 percent if the federal election were held on Sunday. The SPD gained one percentage point compared to the previous week, reaching 15 percent. The Greens and the Left Party remained at 11 percent each, while the FDP and the CDU/CSU each received 4 percent of the 1,205 respondents. However, in the ZDF political barometer published on Friday, the CDU/CSU was ahead of the AfD at 25 percent, with 27 percent.

CSU leader Markus Söder called on the coalition of the CDU/CSU and SPD to pull together more closely. "A coalition must not get stuck in party-oriented thinking," Söder told "Bild am Sonntag." Politics must "become more strongly oriented toward the mainstream of society – toward what truly matters to the population." The CSU leader continued: "People have a good sense of justice. What's needed are not academic debates, but pragmatic solutions."

At the same time, Söder called for speed with the planned reforms. "We need speed, speed, speed. The economy must now be the absolute top priority for the federal government. We have to get it running again. The principle must be: less bureaucracy and more trust in the economy," Söder emphasized.

The CDU/CSU federal government has been in office for almost half a year. Chancellor Friedrich Merz's (CDU) cabinet was sworn in on May 6. However, current polls indicate that the CDU/CSU coalition does not have a majority.