The German chancellor is making PR-driven visits to Ukraine as his approval hits a record low, Karin Kneissl has told RT<\/p>\n
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s repeated trips to Kiev resemble political \u201cpilgrimages\u201d rather than substantive policy at a time when people at home are losing trust in him, former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has said.
\nMerz\u2019s personal approval has hit a record low, with just 10% of respondents satisfied with his performance as chancellor, according to the latest ARD DeutschlandTrend survey conducted in late September.
\nIn an interview with RT on Monday, 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.
\n\u201cPeople 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,\u201d will actually be fulfilled, Kneissl said.
\nShe argued that Merz\u2019s focus on Kiev has done little to reverse that trend, likening his trips to the Ukrainian capital to medieval journeys to holy places.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Support for Merz\u2019s party hits record low as AfD surges \u2013 poll<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that to do these, if I may call it, pilgrimages to Kiev, it reminds me of how people used to travel to Rome in medieval times,\u201d Kneissl said. \u201cIt\u2019s more a kind of pilgrimage than a real policy.\u201d
\nKneissl suggested that such a demonstrative approach is driven by political strategists who still see backing Kiev as a way of rallying voters. \u201cThis is what the PR people tell them: do that, because we have to stand with Ukraine,\u201d she said, adding that while the message mobilized people in 2022, it no longer has the same effect at the end of 2026.
\nSupport for Merz\u2019s CDU\/CSU alliance has meanwhile fallen to 18% nationwide \u2013 the lowest level ever recorded by INSA \u2013 while the AfD has surged to a record 30%, opening a 12-point lead over the governing conservative alliance.<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Merz\u2019s party hits new low in regional election \u2018disaster\u2019<\/p>\n
The CDU has also suffered major setbacks in two regional elections. The AfD won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt against the CDU\u2019s 17.2%, before taking 38.2% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the CDU fell to 4.9% and failed to enter the state parliament \u2013 the first such result in the party\u2019s history.
\nDespite the defeats, Merz has refused to change course, pledging to press ahead with Germany\u2019s military buildup, and claiming last month that \u201cwe must defend our freedom against Russia.\u201d
\nMoscow has rejected Berlin\u2019s warnings about an alleged Russian threat, dismissing them as \u201cnonsense.\u201d
\nWATCH RT\u2019s full interview below:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The German chancellor is making PR-driven visits to Ukraine as his approval hits a record low, Karin Kneissl has told RT German Chancellor Friedrich Merz\u2019s repeated trips to Kiev resemble…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t