The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the strongest political force in Germany for the first time according to ZDF's "Politbarometer." In the survey published on Friday, the AfD overtook the CDU/CSU with an approval rating of 26 percent compared to the Union's 25 percent. Satisfaction with Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and his government has sunk to a record low: 65 percent rated the Chancellor's work as poor, while 63 percent were dissatisfied with the government as a whole.
The SPD also recorded a historic low, falling to just 12 percent in the "Politbarometer" for the first time - one point lower than in the March survey. The Greens reached 14 percent (down one point), while the Left party gained one point to reach 11 percent. The Union lost one point compared to the previous month, while the AfD remained stable. With this result, a black-red coalition would not have a parliamentary majority.
After 34 percent in the "Politbarometer" from late March, only 27 percent of respondents now expressed overall satisfaction with the federal government's work. Approval for Chancellor Merz's work fell from 38 percent to 30 percent.
There is also substantial criticism of Federal Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (SPD), whose performance is rated as good by 29 percent and poor by 58 percent, as well as Economics Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU), who only does a good job for 19 percent (poor: 64 percent).
According to respondents, cooperation within the coalition has also deteriorated. The assessment now falls behind expectations shortly before the government was formed a year ago: In May 2025, roughly half (51 percent) expected that the Union and SPD would work well together, but currently only 18 percent describe the cooperation within the coalition as good. 73 percent perceive it as poor - this was the majority opinion among supporters of all parties.
In evaluating politicians by sympathy and performance, Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) continues to hold first place. He is rated with an average value of 1.7 on the scale from plus 5 to minus 5. Newcomer Cem Özdemir of the Greens follows at a considerable distance with 0.9, and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) with 0.3.
Then the negative range begins: Lars Klingbeil (SPD) comes in at minus 0.4, Bärbel Bas (SPD) at minus 0.6, Heidi Reichinnek (Left) at minus 0.8, and Markus Söder (CSU) at minus 0.9. Chancellor Merz drops from fifth place to eighth with his worst rating to date of minus 1.1.
The "Politbarometer" survey was conducted by the Mannheim Research Group Wahlen. Interviews were conducted from April 14 to 16, 2026, with 1,355 randomly selected eligible voters via telephone and online. The margin of error is plus/minus three percentage points for a proportion of 40 percent and plus/minus two percentage points for a proportion of 10 percent.
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