Merkel: her popularity has fallen to its lowest level recorded this year.

DPA
Berlin

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is falling out of favour with the German public, polls published yesterday showed.
Merkel, named the most powerful woman in the world by Forbes this year, currently ranks only fourth among Germany’s most important politicians, according to a poll for broadcaster ZDF published yesterday.
On a scale of plus 5 to minus 5, the chancellor only scored an average 1.9 points among those surveyed – her lowest score in the current election period so far.
Merkel had scored 2.4 points in the same poll two weeks ago, then considered her country’s second most important politician.
Yesterday’s results showed Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble holding the top position as Germany’s most popular politician with 2.1 points.
He was followed by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier with 2.0 points.
Merkel’s popularity has fallen to its lowest level recorded this year, figures from pollster Forsa for the magazine Stern and broadcaster RTL also showed.
The German chancellor’s declining popularity was also evidenced by an INSA institute poll, which showed that residents of eastern Germany are losing trust in Merkel.
The INSA survey, published in the daily Thueringischen Landeszeitung yesterday, asked which politicians they currently trusted most, 24% of east Germans surveyed said Merkel.
In August, the figure stood at 32%.
In western Germany, trust in Merkel slightly increased from 31% to 33%, according to the poll.
On average nationwide, some 32% of people confirmed their trust in Merkel – slightly more than the 31% one month ago.
Merkel’s reputation has been affected by the migrant crisis, which is viewed differently in the western and eastern parts of the country, with social equality still an issue a quarter century after the reunification of Germany in 1990.
“The migrant issue has changed the political climate in Germany with significant difference between East and West,” INSA chief Hermann Binkert told the paper.
The ZDF poll appeared to back this view, showing only 50% of responders agreeing with the government’s generous asylum policies.
More than 40% of those questioned disagreed with Merkel’s views on the migrant crisis.
The ZDF poll was conducted by experts from the Mannheim group for elections between September 22 and 22 among 1225 voters.
The pollster INSA conducted interviews among a representative sample of 2,187 people between September 18 and 21.