# Why is Chancellor Merz so unpopular — and is it fair?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/dw-berlin-briefing-inside-german-politics-7077761/why-is-chancellor-merz-so-unpopular-and-is-it-fair
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/dw-berlin-briefing-inside-german-politics-7077761/why-is-chancellor-merz-so-unpopular-and-is-it-fair.md
Podcast: [DW Berlin Briefing - Inside German politics](https://stenobird.com/podcast/dw-berlin-briefing-inside-german-politics-7077761)
Published: 2026-04-24T10:29:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-chancellor-merz-so-unpopular-and-is-it-fair/audio-76917949?maca=en-podcast_Berlin_Briefing-42113-xml-mrss
Audio file: https://radiodownloaddw-a.akamaihd.net/Events/podcasts/en/42113_podcast_Berlin_Briefing/DDB372AD_2-podcast-42113-76917949.mp3
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Duration seconds: 2181

## Resource

Germany’s chancellor tops the wrong rankings: approval is at a record low and the AfD has overtaken the CDU/CSU in some polls. But do polls really capture Friedrich Merz’s performance? In this episode, DW Berlin Bureau chief Maximilian Hofmann speaks with DW Chief Political Editor Michaela Küfner, Dr. Roland Abold from polling institute infratest dimap and Berlin-based French journalist Luc André.

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## Transcript

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