Majority of Germans 'in favour of a new government'
According to a new study by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the mood for political change in Germany has reached a record level - just four months before nationwide elections.
According to the survey published on Monday, more than six out of 10 German citizens (61.5 percent) would like to see a big shift within the federal government.
This marks the highest percent measured since the first time the regularly-conducted survey posed the same question in the early 1990s.
The respondents were either eager for completely different leadership to take the reins of Europe’s top economy, or wanted different policies to be put in place.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) will be stepping down on September 26th, after 16 years at the helm of German politics.
READ ALSO: These are the dates you need to know for Germany's 'super election year'
Desire for big policy changes
According to the survey results, only one in eight Germans (14 percent) is satisfied with the federal government and therefore against a change.
By contrast, two-thirds of respondents were in favour of significantly changing many areas of current politics.
In terms of concrete measures, 55.4 percent of respondents wanted to see a restructuring of environmental and climate protection policy.
In recent weeks, Germany’s Green Party - who nominated their first Chancellor candidate in April - has been topping political polls, coming out ahead of the ruling centre-left Christian Democrats.
READ ALSO: From trailblazing radicals to Germany's most popular party: Who are the Greens?
Survey-takers were keen to see changes in refugee and integration policy (54.9 percent), while 53.9 percent of participants were also in favor of changes to pension policy and 52.4 percent were for a different education policy.
Only a minority were in favour of a change of course in financial and European policy and internal security.
A March 2021 survey also showed that nearly two-thirds of Germans were dissatisfied with the country's coronavirus politics, nearly double the percentage as at the beginning of the crisis in spring 2020.
The Berlin-based Bertelsmann Stiftung surveyed 1,028 people between April 23th 2021 and May 6th. The result is representative of the population at 16 years of age or older.
Vocabulary
mood for change - (die) Wechselstimmung
restructuring/reorganisation - (die) Umstrukturierung
the continuation - (die) Fortsetzung
the minority - (die) Minderheit
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
Comments (2)
See Also
According to the survey published on Monday, more than six out of 10 German citizens (61.5 percent) would like to see a big shift within the federal government.
This marks the highest percent measured since the first time the regularly-conducted survey posed the same question in the early 1990s.
The respondents were either eager for completely different leadership to take the reins of Europe’s top economy, or wanted different policies to be put in place.
Chancellor Angela Merkel of the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) will be stepping down on September 26th, after 16 years at the helm of German politics.
READ ALSO: These are the dates you need to know for Germany's 'super election year'
Desire for big policy changes
According to the survey results, only one in eight Germans (14 percent) is satisfied with the federal government and therefore against a change.
By contrast, two-thirds of respondents were in favour of significantly changing many areas of current politics.
In terms of concrete measures, 55.4 percent of respondents wanted to see a restructuring of environmental and climate protection policy.
In recent weeks, Germany’s Green Party - who nominated their first Chancellor candidate in April - has been topping political polls, coming out ahead of the ruling centre-left Christian Democrats.
READ ALSO: From trailblazing radicals to Germany's most popular party: Who are the Greens?
Survey-takers were keen to see changes in refugee and integration policy (54.9 percent), while 53.9 percent of participants were also in favor of changes to pension policy and 52.4 percent were for a different education policy.
Only a minority were in favour of a change of course in financial and European policy and internal security.
A March 2021 survey also showed that nearly two-thirds of Germans were dissatisfied with the country's coronavirus politics, nearly double the percentage as at the beginning of the crisis in spring 2020.
The Berlin-based Bertelsmann Stiftung surveyed 1,028 people between April 23th 2021 and May 6th. The result is representative of the population at 16 years of age or older.
Vocabulary
mood for change - (die) Wechselstimmung
restructuring/reorganisation - (die) Umstrukturierung
the continuation - (die) Fortsetzung
the minority - (die) Minderheit
We’re aiming to help our readers improve their German by translating vocabulary from some of our news stories. Did you find this article useful? Let us know.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.