An Infratest dimap survey showed only 40 percent of Germans were satisfied with Merkel’s performance, her worst rating since she took office in November 2005.Approval ratings for Merkel’s government, a coalition of her conservatives and the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), also slipped. Only 12 percent said they were satisfied with it. Merkel’s standing has been battered by infighting within her centre-right coalition, the resignation of President Horst Koehler and criticism of her planned austerity cuts.Some 47 percent said new elections would be the best option given a choice between that, a continuation of Merkel’s centre-right coalition until the next scheduled vote in 2013 and a “grand coalition” of conservatives and the centre-left SPD. Some 24 percent said they would prefer a “grand coalition” to the current government, which only 23 percent said should continue.
However, the poll also showed that only 35 percent of Germans believed new elections would actually take place while 41 percent expected Merkel’s coalition to soldier on. Several newspapers have reported that the government is in crisis and may be heading for collapse less than nine months after the last federal vote.
One opposition leader has called for new elections. An Emnid poll on Sunday also showed that 55 percent of Germans do not think the coalition will last until federal elections due in the autumn of 2013.
