Chancellor Merz still least liked national politician for Germans — poll

TASS · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Aug 11, 2026 · 300 words

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Daily briefing

What to know about Political Popularity

The article reports on an INSA opinion poll for Bild newspaper regarding the popularity of German politicians, noting that Friedrich Merz ranks last. It also mentions current polling data for the SPD and AfD in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and cites a Der Spiegel report regarding Merz's potential resignation.

Propaganda risk 20%

Claims checked 11

Techniques found 1

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left20%

Center80%

Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is still mired in last place in the popularity ranking of German politicians, according to the results of an opinion poll conducted by the INSA pollster for the Bild newspaper.

Why it matters

On a 10-point scale, Merz scored only 2.6 points, placing him last (20th) on the list.

Common ground

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius continues to top the ranking with 4.9 points.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Political Popularity story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Manuela Schwesig, Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has unexpectedly made it into the top five most popular politicians in Germany – she is in fourth place with 4.1 points?
How does this story connect Political Popularity with German Political Stability over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://tass.com/society/2171463

analyticsAnalysis

20%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 95%

Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 2

cancel Disputed 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

info Single Source 2

check_circle Corroborated 2

schedule Pending 1

verified

Claim 1: “Manuela Schwesig, Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has unexpectedly made it into the top five most popular politicians in Germany – she is in fourth place with 4.1 points.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While Manuela Schwesig is a known politician, no evidence in the provided search results confirms her specific rank (4th) or score (4.1) in the INSA popularity poll.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The foundation of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (German: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, SPD) can be traced back to the 1860s, and it has represented the centre-left in German politi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Social_Democrat…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election was held on 26 September 2021 to elect the 8th Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The incumbent government was a coalition of the Social Democratic Party…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Mecklenburg-Vorpommern_st…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election will be held on 20 September 2026 to elect the 9th Landtag of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Mecklenburg-Vorpommern_st…

+ 3 more evidence sources

cancel

Claim 2: “On a 10-point scale, Merz scored only 2.6 points, placing him last (20th) on the list.”

DISPUTED

While sources agree Merz is last (20th), the specific score is contradictory. One source mentions 2.7 out of 10, while the claim states 2.6. Another source mentions a satisfaction rating of 36 percent, which is a different metric.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the run-up to the 2025 German federal election, which took place as a snap election on 23 February 2025, various organisations carried out opinion polling to gauge voting intentions in Germany. Res…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2025_G…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 Thuringian state election was held on 1 September 2024 to elect the members of the 8th Landtag of Thuringia. It was held on the same day as the 2024 Saxony state election. The outgoing govern…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Thuringian_state_election

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “The poll was conducted from August 7 to 10 and involved 2,010 respondents.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found regarding the specific dates (August 7-10) or the sample size (2,010 respondents) of the poll.

cancel

Claim 4: “German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius continues to top the ranking with 4.9 points.”

DISPUTED

Sources confirm Boris Pistorius tops the ranking, but the score differs. The claim says 4.9, while web search results report 5.1 approval points.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Saxony-Anhalt state election to elect the 9th Landtag of Saxony-Anhalt will be held on 6 September 2026, two weeks before the 2026 Berlin and 2026 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state elections. The …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Saxony-Anhalt_state_elect…

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Olaf Scholz (born 14 June 1958) is a German politician who served as the chancellor of Germany from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), he previously served as Vice Chancellor…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olaf_Scholz

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will elect its new parliament on September 20.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly states that the 2026 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election will be held on 20 September 2026.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · Mesothelioma verdicts are awarded by jury in a trial and average $5 Million+. Learn recent asbestos verdicts by mesothelioma trial attorneys.
https://www.sokolovelaw.com/mesothelioma/legal/mesothelioma-…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 17 hours ago · CourtCaseFinder.com is not operated by, affiliated with, or associated with any federal, state, or local government or agency. Because we are not the original source of the information …
https://courtcasefinder.com/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Sep 1, 2026 · Explore the various options for locating federal court case records electronically, including logging into PACER.
https://pacer.uscourts.gov/find-case

info

Claim 6: “He is followed by Cem Ozdemir, Minister-President of Baden-Wurttemberg (4.4 points), and Hendrik Wust, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, who rounds out the top three (4.2 points).”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific ranking and points for Cem Ozdemir (4.4) and Hendrik Wust (4.2) are found in one web search result that mirrors the claim's phrasing, but are not corroborated by other independent sources.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Coverage is how much of your take was speech rather than pauses. Together they are the Choicer Voicer score.Start on time, not early. The Choicer Voicer countdown leads straight into the line. Players…
https://choicervoicer.co/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Why Ether Points Matter So Much in Season 10. The Ether Tree is basically your long-term customization system for endgame farming.
https://pixelnitro.com/hero-siege-season-10-ether-quests-gui…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — He is followed by Cem Ozdemir, Minister-President of Baden-Wurttemberg (4.4 points), and Hendrik Wust, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, who rounds out the top three (4.2 points).
https://tass.com/society/2171463

check_circle

Claim 7: “German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is still mired in last place in the popularity ranking of German politicians, according to the results of an opinion poll conducted by the INSA pollster for the Bild newspaper.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources confirm that an INSA poll for Bild ranks Friedrich Merz as the least popular politician in Germany.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Alternative for Germany (German: Alternative für Deutschland, AfD [aːʔɛfˈdeː] ) is a far-right, right-wing populist, national conservative, and in parts völkisch nationalist political party in Germany…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_for_Germany

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The INSA ranking is the latest in a string of dire polls for Merz’s government. Just weeks earlier, another INSA survey for Bild am Sonntag found 70 per cent of voters dissatisfied with the Chancellor…
https://brusselssignal.eu/2026/04/merz-now-least-popular-pol…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has fallen to last place in the popularity ratings of German politicians for the first time.According to his data, Merz fell from 18th to 20th place, becoming th…
https://en.apa.az/europe/merz-ranks-last-in-german-politicia…

+ 1 more evidence source

help

Claim 8: “AfD leader Alice Weidel dropped from eighth to tenth place.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found regarding Alice Weidel's ranking change in the provided search results.

schedule

Claim 9: “Der Spiegel reported earlier that the leadership of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) does not rule out that Merz could resign following the upcoming parliamentary elections in three German federal states this September.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 10: “According to the latest polls, the support rating of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) stands at 29%, or 7 percentage points (pp) less than that of Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose rating stands at 36%.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the AfD is leading in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania polls with 36% compared to the SPD's 29%.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Current Parliamentary Election Trend. Weighted average of all institutes. The bars show the current standing, the chips the change since the last election.
https://politpro.eu/en/mecklenburg-western-pomerania

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Like Mecklenburg-Hither Pomerania, Berlin also has state elections on September 20th. Here, the AfD has doubled its support since the last elections in 2023, according to the latest polls, but it is s…
https://berlinspectator.com/2026/08/09/spd-kicks-off-tense-c…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A new Insa poll puts the AfD at 36 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, ahead of Schwesig's SPD on 29, five and a half weeks before the state election.Latest News from Germany, in English. No Pay…
https://www.newsworm.de/news/afd-ahead-of-spd-in-new-mecklen…

info

Claim 11: “Bavaria’s Minister-President Markus Soeder descended to fifth place at 4 points”

SINGLE SOURCE

No evidence was found in the search results regarding Markus Soeder's specific rank or score in the INSA popularity poll.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Markus Thomas Theodor Söder is a German politician from Bavaria, Germany serving as Minister-President of Bavaria since 2018 and leader of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria since 2019.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markus_Söder

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Marcus developed as a patronymic or toponymic surname in Italy, southern France, and Spain around 1000 A.D., attributable to religious monasteries and sanctuaries named Sanctus Marcus (or its many var…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_(name)

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Markus Alexej Persson (/ ˈpɪərsən / ⓘ PEER-sən, Swedish: [ˈmǎrːkɵs ˈpæ̌ːʂɔn] ⓘ; born 1 June 1979), also known by the pseudonym Notch, is a Swedish video game programmer and designer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markus_Persson

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.