Surveys show Friedrich Merz as the most unpopular leader across 24 democracies, far behind Narendra Modi, Lee Jae-myung and Andrej Babiš in approval.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has the lowest approval rating among 24 democratically elected world leaders, with just 19% of Germans saying they are satisfied with his work, according to US-based opinion research institute Morning Consult.
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French President Emmanuel Macron ranked second-lowest, with 18% approval and 75% disapproval, in the survey, which tracks leaders' popularity across major democracies.
However, Merz recorded the highest disapproval rate at 76%, while 19% of respondents said they were satisfied with his work. A recent survey conducted by Forsa on behalf of RTL produced similar results, with 78% of respondents dissatisfied with Merz's work and 20% satisfied.
Manfred Güllner, head of polling firm Forsa, told Euronews that Merz "was already one of the most unpopular political players in the Federal Republic during his first time as an active politician in the early 2000s".
Even after his return to politics, his popularity has not increased, Güllner said. "There are massive reservations, especially among women, young voters and East Germans. After his election as the tenth chancellor of the Republic, he was unable to reduce the many reservations against him — on the contrary, they have become even greater over the course of his time in office."
Hermann Binkert, head of polling institute Insa, told Euronews that the chancellor "has broken election promises, Germany's economic development continues to be negative, many see their home country in a downward spiral".
"Neither the bourgeois-conservative camp nor the left-liberal progressive camp is satisfied with what the governing coalition is implementing," Binkert said.
Turkey and US in mid-range
According to the survey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ranked in the lower half of the mid-range. Around a third (36%) said they were satisfied with his political work, while exactly half (50%) of Turkish respondents disapproved.
However, it is unclear how the survey was conducted in Turkey. Some experts no longer categorise the country under Erdoğan as a democracy, but as an electoral autocracy.
US President Donald Trump ranked just ahead of Erdoğan in 10th place from the bottom, despite launching military operations in Iran. Some 38% of Americans said they were satisfied with his work, while 57% were dissatisfied.
A survey by The Economist produced similar figures, with 37% satisfied and 56% dissatisfied.
Also in the mid-range were Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (38% in favour to 57% against), Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (39% to 55%) and Argentina's President Javier Milei (48% to 49%).
Güllner said Germans are "by no means more sceptical about their country's political leadership than other nations". Other chancellors, such as Konrad Adenauer, Willy Brandt and Gerhard Schröder, had enjoyed high levels of acceptance.
"In this respect, the great dissatisfaction with the current chancellor is not due to Germans' general scepticism towards their political leadership, but solely to the person of Merz himself," Güllner said.
With his poor ratings, Merz has now fallen below former Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Even at his lowest point, Scholz was significantly more popular than Merz, according to surveys.
In mid-June 2024, 28% of respondents said they approved of Scholz's work as chancellor, while 67% rated it as poor.
The highest approval rating went to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (70%), followed by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung (63%) and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (55%).
The Morning Consult tracker surveys adults in each country and reflects a seven-day simple moving average of views.