Germans dissatisfied with early work of new govt : poll

A large majority of Germans remains unimpressed by the record of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) fourth governing cabinet so far, a "Politbarometer" poll published on Friday by the public broadcaster "ZDF" finds.

Only 17 percent of respondents in the survey praised the work of the new "grand coalition" since it was formed between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Social Union (CSU) and German Social Democrats (SPD) in March. By contrast, 77 percent took an unfavourable view of the federal government's performance.

According to the poll, exactly half of Germans (50 percent) expected the CDU, CSU and SPD to cooperate poorly during the coming years. Nevertheless, nearly two thirds (65 percent) believed the government would serve a full four-year term.

The closely-watched "Politbarometer" survey further found that the CDU and CSU could expect to secure a combined 33 percent of the national vote (plus one percentage point) if elections were held on Sunday. The SPD would receive 19 percent (no change), compared to 14 percent (plus two percentage points) for the Greens (Gruene), 13 percent (no change) for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), nine percent (minus two percentage points) for the Left party (Linke) and eight percent (minus one percentage point) for the Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Merkel (CDU) also experienced a slump in her personal levels of support. The veteran chancellor was demoted by one rank to fourth place when respondents were asked to name the ten most important politicians in their country. The list was led by German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier, followed by ex-foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD).