Merkel’s Approval Ratings Plunge Amid Domestic Policy Concerns

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s approval rating dropped to 1.0 from 1.4 on the scale between +5 and -5 since late July, according to a poll.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s public support has dwindled since last month amid concerns about the implications of her open-door migrant policy and the high terror threat in the country, a new poll published on Friday showed.

The public broadcaster ZDF’s Politbarometer survey, conducted this week, found that Merkel’s approval rating dropped to 1.0 from 1.4 on the scale between +5 and —5 since late July.

The survey ranked Germany’s top lawmakers according to how well they would fare if the federal general election, planned for 2017, took place this Sunday.

Merkel came fourth, while the head of Baden-Wuerttemberg's state government Winfried Kretschmann topped the table with a score of 2.1, followed by Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier on 2.0. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble finished third on 1.6.

The poll also showed that 52 percent of Germans had a negative view of the chancellor’s handling of the migrant crisis, when some 1.1 million refugees arrived in the country last year. Fifty-four percent said that they believe the Berlin-spearheaded EU deal with Turkey to curb the inflow of migrants to Europe would fail.

A significant majority, 72 percent of respondents, said they would approve of deploying federal armed forces in the event of a new terrorist attack in Germany, after a spate of killings in its south last month.