Merkel's government delivers, but voters are unconvinced
Rebecca Staudenmaier
August 19, 2019
The German government is working at a "record-breaking" pace according to a new study, but only 10% of voters agree. With state elections looming, time is running out for Berlin to convince the public it's doing its job.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/xim.gs/p. Szyza
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Just halfway through its term, German Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition has already implemented around 61% of its policy promises, according to a study published on Monday.
The authors of the study, carried out by the Bertelsmann Foundation and Berlin Social Science Center, said the current government was working at a possibly "record-breaking" pace in ticking off the goals laid out in its coalition agreement.
"We didn't evaluate whether what the government is doing is politically right or wrong," Robert Vehrkamp, one of the study's main authors and a senior advisor at the Bertelsmann Foundation's "Future of Democracy" program, told DW.
"We assessed the reliability of the government — and it is very high. The grand coalition is doing what it promised," he added.
At first glance, the study appears to be cause for celebration for the embattled grand coalition — comprised of Merkel's conservative alliance (CDU/CSU) and their junior partners, the center-left Social Democrats (SPD).
But a closer look at the results reveals a massive disconnect with voters — the vast majority of whom doubt that the government is delivering on its promises.
Progress not reflected with voters
Only 10% of voters surveyed for the study said they believed the government had kept the majority of its promises, meaning only a small portion of the electorate believes the government is performing at the rate it actually is.
Some 79% said they believed that the government has implemented under half of its pledges, or hardly any at all.
Even those who identified themselves as supporters of the CDU, CSU or SPD appeared to have a poor image of the government's progress. Only 20% said they believed the government had fulfilled all or a majority of its promises.
Government must 'clearly communicate'
Out of the 296 promises identified by researchers in the coalition agreement, the Interior Ministry managed to completely fulfill the most promises, followed by the Health Ministry and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
Although those departments are areas where voters have been demanding action, the study suggested that it might be taking too long for voters to feel the effects in their daily lives.
"The government must clearly communicate what it actually stands for — and not just on the basis of nearly 300 individual promises," Theres Matthiess, study co-author and research associate at the Berlin Social Science Center, told DW.
"Just because a law is passed doesn't mean that changes can be felt immediately and sometimes there may be unintended consequences," she added.
Researchers also suggested that although the government has been delivering on the promises it made, those pledges might not reflect the actual wishes or areas of concern for voters.
The SPD in particular has seen a sharp drop in support, although the study found that the ministries headed by the center-left party have implemented the most pledges, and a good portion of what ended up in the coalition agreement was taken from the SPD's election program.
A Deutschlandtrend opinion poll in early August showed that only 31% of respondents said they were satisfied with the government's work.
For Matthiess, the study shows that there's a clear communication problem between the ruling parties and the voters, but it also dispels one frequent complaint about the coalition — that they're not doing anything.
"The parties are better than their reputations and cannot be branded as 'promise breakers,'" she said.
Only once has federal Germany been ruled by a single party with a parliamentary majority. Coalitions are, therefore, the norm. DW looks at the various governing combinations that have presided in the Bundestag.
Image: Fabrizio Bensch/REUTERS
CDU-SPD (2025-?)
Yet another coalition of the conservative Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democrat Party (SPD) has taken office on May 6, 2025. Both the CDU and the SPD have dwindled in recent years, so there is now no talk of "grand coalition" as they embark on a mission to save Germany's economy from decline and society from further polarization.
Image: Florian Gaertner/IMAGO
SPD-Green Party-FDP (2021-2024)
From 2021 until late 2024, Germany was governed by a center-left coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), ecologist Greens and neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), whose color is yellow. The government known as "Ampel" (traffic light) in Germany, started out as a self-declared "Fortschrittskoalition" (progress coalition) but got mired in infighting and became the least popular government ever.
Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance
CDU/CSU-SPD (2013-2021)
After taking more than 40% of the vote, Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives probably weren't expecting to rule with the SPD. However, her old allies, the FDP failed to meet the 5% threshold to enter the Bundestag, and options were limited. Merkel called on the SPD to join her and "take on the responsibility to build a stable government." She made the same speech again four years later.
Image: Maurizio Gambarini/dpa/picture alliance
CDU/CSU-FDP (2009-2013)
The SPD, part of the outgoing coalition, picked up a disappointing 23% in the 2009 federal election. The Free Democrats, by contrast, won more than 14% of the vote. Chancellor Angela Merkel (center) and the FDP's Guido Westerwelle (left) formed a coalition with relative ease. It was, after all, Germany's 11th CDU/CSU-FDP government.
Image: AP
CDU/CSU-SPD (2005-2009)
"Grand coalitions" do not come easily. When the first exit polls came in, both Gerhard Schröder (left) and Angela Merkel (right) declared themselves the winner. In the end, Merkel's conservatives defeated the SPD by just 1%. Germany's two largest parties agreed to form the country's second-ever grand coalition, and Schröder left politics.
Image: Stefan Sauer/dpa/picture alliance
SPD-Green Party (1998-2005)
In 1998, the CDU/CSU lost a general election and SPD candidate Gerhard Schröder (left) became chancellor, heading a center-left government with the Green Party. Joschka Fischer of the Greens took over the Foreign Ministry.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
CDU-DSU-Democratic Awakening (1990)
Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, East Germany held its first free election. The Christian Democrats under Lothar de Maiziere took over 40% of the vote. They went into coalition with two small parties: German Social Union and Democratic Awakening, whose members included one Angela Merkel. In October that year, the government signed the reunification treaty with West Germany.
Image: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa/picture alliance
CDU/CSU-FDP (1982-1998)
The friendship between the SPD and FDP ended as the two parties' differing ideologies became irreconcilable in the early 1980s. The liberals again switched sides, seeking a deal with the conservatives. They formed a new CDU/CSU-FDP coalition under the leadership of Helmut Kohl (pictured), who remained chancellor for 16 years until well after German reunification.
Image: AP
SPD-FDP (1969-1982)
Willy Brandt (left) became Germany's first Social Democratic chancellor in the postwar period. The CDU/CSU was the strongest party, but Brandt struck a deal with the FDP to secure a narrow majority in the Bundestag. This wouldn't be the last time the FDP would be called out for a lack of loyalty. In 1974, Brandt was replaced by Helmut Schmidt (right), who went on to win two more elections.
Image: Sammy Minkoff/picture alliance
CDU/CSU - SPD (1966-1969)
The first-ever "grand coalition" was not the product of an election. Ludwig Erhard was re-elected in 1965 and continued to rule alongside the FDP who left the government in the following year over budget disputes. Erhard also resigned and Kurt Kiesinger (center) was chosen to take over. With the FDP out, he governed with the center-left Social Democrats, led by Willy Brandt.
Image: picture-alliance / dpa
CDU/CSU-FDP (1961-1966)
After four years of ruling West Germany on their own between 1957 and 1961, the conservatives lost their majority in the Bundestag and were forced to enter into coalition with the Free Democrats again. Adenauer resigned in 1963 for his part in the so-called "Spiegel" scandal. His economic affairs minister, Ludwig Erhard (left), was elected by parliament to take over.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
CDU/CSU-FDP-DP (1949-1961)
The first democratic government to govern West Germany since the end of World War II saw Christian Democratic Union leader Konrad Adenauer form a governing coalition with the Free Democrats and the German Party (a now-defunct national conservative party). It had a very slim majority. Small coalition partners fell by the wayside, eventually leaving the CDU/CSU to govern alone.
