The majority of Germans polled said they had a negative view of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government in addressing the refugee crisis. Fourty three percent of the respondents were favourable to the government’s immigration policy, while 68% were had a negative opinion of the overall performance of the country’s government.
According to the regular DeutschlandTrend poll on behalf of the first channel of German public broadcaster ARD, only 31% expressed satisfaction with the work of the coalition government, six percentage points higher than last month. In terms of immigration policy, a large 69% said the integration of refugees into German society was “bad or very bad”, compared to 23% who said the opposite.
Criticism is also being exercised in the policy of refoulement of refugees whose asylum application were rejected, with 83% talking about a “very bad or bad” practice. Only 11% of Germans have a positive view of the issue.
On the issue of criminality, only 27% believes the government is taking adequate measures to prevent violence and crime, with 69% saying it has shortcomings. German public opinion, however, appears to be divided in terms of whether the government is seriously considering citizens’ concerns about immigration. In the corresponding question, 49% responded positively, while 51% negatively.