Opinion poll
Comeback for Olaf Scholz? As “Peace Chancellor” he is rising in the political hit parade
Olaf Scholz has a good laugh again. The polls have been going up since he appeared to be singing the song “A Little Peace.”
© Janine Schmitz/photo library. / Imago Images
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius remains at the top of the politician ranking, but Chancellor Olaf Scholz is gaining the most. The analysis of chart-toppers, evergreens and one-hit wonders.
“Listen to me, believe me, close your eyes, trust me!” sings the snake Kaa to the orphan boy Mowgli in the classic Disney film “Jungle Book”. Our politicians are trying something very similar with their interviews, speeches and social media snippets. The politicians’ hit parade, which the opinion research institute compiles for the RTL-ntv trend barometer, regularly shows how successful they are. The Germans answer the question of who they see the country as “in good hands.” Respondents can give their assessment on a scale from 0 (“not at all in good hands”) to 100 (“completely in good hands”). The star has examined the new edition of the rankings.
The frontrunner: Boris Pistorius
He saw came and conquered. Immediately after his appointment as Federal Defense Minister in January last year, SPD man Boris Pistorius rose to the top of the politicians’ hit parade and has not given up first place since. In the current survey from the end of March, it has increased slightly compared to January and now reaches 57 “trust points” (plus two). Pistorius is on the way from chart breaker to evergreen. No other politician surpasses the 50 point mark. Whether in West or East Germany – no other is more popular. The 64-year-old is also ahead among SPD supporters with 74 points.
The newcomer: Olaf Scholz
When Olaf Scholz brought Boris Pistorius into his cabinet at the beginning of 2023, he still had 45 trust points. That was just a mediocre chart placement for a head of government in times of crisis. Things have only gone downhill since then. At the turn of the year he only achieved 30 points. But there are signs of a small comeback: Since the Chancellor took a clearly negative position on the issue of the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, his poll numbers have improved everywhere. It seems as if “A little peace” is catching on with the Germans. In the Forsa ranking, the Chancellor has now gained three points to 33 compared to the turn of the year – the biggest change among the 20 politicians surveyed. The number with the “Peace Chancellor” is apparently particularly well received by SPD voters. Scholz gains six points. With 70 points, he is catching up with Pistorius again – his possible successor as lead singer of the traffic light coalition.
The boy band from the Union
Whether it’s the controversial party song about the brothel mother “Layla” or the cheating hit “Cordula Grün” – Schleswig-Holstein’s Prime Minister Daniel Günther, 50, has no inhibitions when singing along to hits. Surprisingly, this doesn’t hurt the CDU politician, maybe it even benefits him. In any case, he remains in second place in the ranking with 49 points. Directly behind him with 48 points is his party colleague Hendrik Wüst, 48, who is also in a coalition with the Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia. The black boy band is completed by 57-year-old Markus Söder. With 41 points, the CSU boss and Bavarian Prime Minister is no longer among the top 3 Germans. The favorite for the Union’s candidacy for chancellor, Friedrich Merz, 68, is still far behind. He just reached 34 “trust points”. In the Union’s internal charts, the situation is reversed – but not in favor of parliamentary group leader Merz, who is also in last place among CDU and CSU voters (59 points). Markus Söder is the undisputed star here: with 79 trust points, he is clearly ahead of the younger prime ministers. No other politician has such a loyal fan base in their own camp.
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One-hit wonder
The Free Voters achieved a record 15.8 percent in the state elections in Bavaria last fall. This brought its chairman Hubert Aiwanger a lot of popularity. But slowly the “music” seems to have run its course. Aiwanger lost 19 “trust points” among his own voters – more than any other politician. The supporters of the Free Voters only give him 56 points. Sahra Wagenknecht could face a similar fate as a “one-hit wonder”. She has lost support since founding her own party. Nationwide it only achieved 23 points (minus two). Losses are particularly large among AfD voters (minus four), West Germans (minus ten) and the remaining supporters of the Left (minus 24). The politician only has undisputed star qualities among her own supporters. 76 percent trust her – that’s almost Söder level.
The data was compiled by the market and opinion research institute Forsa RTL Germany collected from March 21 to 25, 2024. Database: 1519 respondents, rating on a scale from 0 to 100; The average value is shown based on those who know the politician; Changes compared to January 2024.
The star is part of RTL Deutschland.