The immigration issue once again threatens to separate the "ideal couple" Seehofer and Merkel, now again far from harmony
And what does the ordinary citizen think about the problems of immigration and the efforts to solve them undertaken by the government and its ministers? These questions can be answered by a public opinion poll called DeutschlandTrend ("Trends in Germany"), prepared in early September on behalf of the first channel of public-law television ARD. Here are the main findings of this sociological study: every second resident of Germany is dissatisfied with the government's actions on the refugee issue. At the same time, a positive attitude towards the ruling coalition prevails among the country's population.
43% of Germans are satisfied with how the reception and distribution of refugees across the country is carried out, 50% are not satisfied with these processes. Only 27% of German residents believe that the integration of newcomers into German society is going well or very well, 69% see the opposite.
The same applies to integration into the labor market: the same 69% consider it unsuccessful, 23% are confident that everything is going according to plan. The vast majority – 83% – criticize the current practice of deporting refugees who have not been granted political asylum, only 11% of respondents believe that the competent authorities are successfully coping with this problem.
Only 27% of German residents believe that the measures taken by the authorities to prevent violence and criminal activity are successful and sufficient, the same 69% of respondents see shortcomings in what is happening.
On the question of how seriously the government takes into account the problems and concerns of citizens, opinions were almost evenly divided: 49% believe that the authorities take us seriously, 51% believe that those at the top do not understand us. In eastern Germany, the latter are 66%, in the west – 46%.
At the same time, the share of those satisfied with the activities of the federal government increased by six percentage points compared to August, the month when the previous DeutschlandTrend survey was conducted: 31% of respondents are satisfied with the government, 68% are not.
As for the distribution of party preferences, there are virtually no changes: 29% of German residents support the conservative bloc CDU/CSU, 18% sympathize with the Social Democratic Party. The Alternative for Germany would receive 18% of the vote in tomorrow's elections (minus 1% over the month), the Free Democratic Party – 8% (plus one). 10% of residents of the Federal Republic are ready to vote for the Left Party, 14% for the Greens.
The list of Germany's most popular politicians according to DeutschlandTrend is headed by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) – he has the sympathy of 47% of citizens. The Federal Chancellor is liked by 46% of Germans, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) – 43%, as is Economics Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU). 40% of respondents are satisfied with the activities of Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) as Defense Minister. The position of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) can be assessed in two ways: on the one hand, only 34% of citizens are satisfied with him, on the other hand, compared to August, the critic of immigration problems improved his position by 7 percentage points. The same applies to Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) with 33%, who rose in the rating by 5 points.
Finally, sociologists asked German citizens whether the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesverfassungsschutz) should monitor politicians of the Alternative for Germany. 65% of German citizens are sure – yes, it's time, 32% consider such measures unnecessary. Currently, the AfD is not under surveillance by intelligence services, but the state authorities for the protection of the constitutional order of Bremen and Lower Saxony have taken under surveillance the local youth organizations of the party, Junge Alternative. In Thuringia, the state youth of the Alternative came under review last week – this is the last stage before the introduction of surveillance by law enforcement.