Germans losing trust in government, political institutions: Survey

By Erbil Basay

BERLIN (AA) – German people's trust in the government and political institutions has declined further, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz losing 13% of his popularity as compare to 2022, while the Constitutional Court and the army are the most credible in public eyes, according to a new poll released on Thursday.

Public trust in political institutions significantly lowered in 2023 compared to 2022, according to the survey conducted by the Forsa company for the media institutions RTL, Stern, and NTV

Trust in German Chancellor Olaf Scholz fell to 20%, a 13% decrease from 2022.

The study also revealed increasing public dissatisfaction with the government, with trust in the federal government falling to 21%.

Separately, the number of those who trust the parliament or Bundestag decreased to 32% from 37%, a 5% drop from the previous year, while those who expressed their trust in political parties decreased by 13%, a 4% loss from 2022.

Police and doctors continue to be the most trusted by the public, as they were last year, while trust in the Constitutional Court and the army has increased to 74% and 53%, respectively.

Social media and advertising agencies are the least trusted by German citizens, according to the survey in which 4,000 people participated in December.