German voters mistrust all parties, but right seen as most competent
More than half of respondents in a recent German survey said they don't trust any party to resolve the nation's problems. Those that do, mostly put their trust in the right AfD and Chancellor Merz's conservative bloc.
Berlin (dpa) - The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc fare best in a new survey of German voters' trust published on Tuesday, but most respondents mistrust all the parties.
When asked which party would be best able to deal with Germany's problems, 13% named the AfD and 12% the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) along with their Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union (CSU) in a survey by broadcaster RTL/ntv.
All other parties trailed by a significant margin. As many as 56% of respondents said they did not trust any party to solve the country's problems.
In the representative poll conducted by the Forsa polling institute for RTL and ntv in mid-August, the CDU/CSU bloc was considered the most competent in three of six major policy areas. Voters were most likely to trust the CDU/CSU to handle the challenges in national security, economic development and the renovation of infrastructure.
The AfD ranked first when it came to managing immigration. Respondents were most likely to trust the Social Democrats (SPD) with maintaining the social security system, while the Greens were considered by far the most capable when it came to environmental protection.
On the question of overall support, there was no change on the week. The AfD remains clearly ahead on 28%, followed by the CDU/CSU on 21% and the Greens on 16%. The SPD and The Left party are tied on 12%, while the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) remain below the 5% electoral threshold.