In the latest polls, Pistorius is leading significantly, while Lindner and Scholz are trailing considerably.
Despite some slight setbacks, Boris Pistorius continues to lead: Many individuals view the country in good hands with the defense minister. Union politicians occupy the second to fourth positions, with none of them being Merz, the CDU leader. In the eastern region, only a few politicians are more popular than Sahra Wagenknecht.
The SPD is keenly waiting for Defense Minister Boris Pistorius's decision about running for a Bundestag seat. This decision may influence whether discussions about a possible change in Olaf Scholz as the next SPD chancellor candidate will gain traction again. The RTL/ntv Trendbarometer survey ranks Pistorius at the top with a substantial lead. Primarily, he is the most popular Social Democrat.
In the Forsa Institute survey conducted for RTL and ntv, participants were asked to rate which politicians they considered to have the country in "good hands." Responses ranged from 0 ("not in good hands at all") to 100 ("completely in good hands"). With 55 points, Pistorius ranks first, although he has decreased by two points since June. North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister President Hendrik Wüst also scores 49 points, level with Schleswig-Holstein's head of government Daniel Günther.
Markus Söder, the CSU leader and Bavarian Minister President, comes fourth with 42 points, equaling his June score. Friedrich Merz gains two points to rank sixth with 36 points. The increment in support for Merz corresponds with the growing sympathy for him as a preferred chancellor. With four Union politicians in the top six, Merz, as the CDU leader, may be contented. Nevertheless, the high support for Wüst and Söder raises concerns about why only the CDU leader should be considered for the chancellorship.
Greens record a loss - with the most popular female politician
Green politicians Cem Özdemir, Robert Habeck, and Annalena Baerbock each lose three points, ranking seventh to ninth. Baerbock, the Foreign Minister, remains the most popular women among top politicians, with 32 points in ninth place. She is followed by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (26 points, 14th place), BSW chairwoman Sahra Wagenknecht (25 points, 16th place), SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken (22 points, 17th place), and AfD chairwoman Alice Weidel (16 points, 18th place).
Weidel and her co-chairman Tino Chrupalla gain three points each, surpassing other top-20 politicians. Thuringia's AfD leader Björn Höcke does not gain any points but manages to stay within the top 20, scoring 9 points.
Lindner and Scholz suffer losses
The most significant loser is FDP leader and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, whose score decreases by 6 points, resulting in a drop to 25 points and 15th place. His party colleague and Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann, in 13th place with 28 points, surpasses Lindner.
Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz suffers a 5-point loss and now ranks 11th with 30 points, one point ahead of SPD general secretary Kevin Kühnert. SPD leader Lars Klingbeil remains unchanged at 37 points in fifth place, while the SPD's Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach drops 3 points to 31 points and 10th place.
Regarding the decisions on upcoming chancellor candidacies, only Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck can be somewhat content: Green Party supporters rate Habeck at 77 points, Baerbock at 71 points, and Federal Minister of Agriculture Özdemir at 62 points. This provides Habeck with more backing for his expected candidacy for his party.
The situation is less clear for the SPD. Pistorius leads with 72 points, but Scholz is close behind with 68 points. Klingbeil also leads with 65 points. The internally controversial co-chairwoman Esken only receives 45 points.
Among Union supporters, Merz has to settle for 62 points. Söder is clearly in the lead with 80 points. Wuß ranks third with 68 points, and Günther ranks fourth with 63 points. The CSU leader Söder is likely to see further motivation in these scores, considering his recent expressions of interest in a chancellor candidacy.
As with previous rankings, except for Wagenknecht and AfD politicians, all top politicians in the East score significantly lower. Pistorius leads with 47 points, followed by Söder with 38 points, Söder (36) and Günther (37 points) come next. BSW founder Wagenknecht is also among the top 5 in the East with 36 points.
Alice Weidel ranks sixth among respondents in the new federal states with 31 points, her co-chairman Chrupalla scores 27 points. The far-right extremist Björn Höcke scores 20 points, which is closer to the federal average and even one point ahead of Baerbock. The last-placed Saskia Esken in the East scores 15 points.
During the elections in Thuringia and Saxony, AfD and BSW showed significant strength. The preference amongst supporters for politicians from these parties varies greatly compared to supporters of other parties. Weidel garners 72 points, Chrupalla 59, and Höcke 53 among AfD supporters. Wagenknecht, on the other hand, takes the lead among BSW supporters with a score of 79 points.
Clear adversarial images surface as well: Green politicians are heavily criticized by AfD supporters. Esken, Faeser, Scholz, Lauterbach, and Klingbeil also face low ratings.
The only senior party politician who earns similar scores among both BSW and AfD supporters, as well as nationally, is CDU leader Söder. He receives 40 points from AfD supporters and an impressive 43 points from BSW supporters. These figures could prove beneficial in Söder's push for the Union's chancellor candidacy.
The polling data for the RTL/ntv politician ranking was gathered by the market and opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of RTL Germany from September 4th to 6th. The sample size consisted of 1532 respondents.
For more information about Forsa, please visit this link. Forsa conducts surveys on behalf of RTL Germany.
The following table might include data on Boris Pistorius's popularity in relation to his potential run for a Bundestag seat, as his popularity can greatly impact the discussions regarding Olaf Scholz as the next SPD chancellor candidate.
The table showing the scores of politicians in good hands might include Boris Pistorius at the top, which mirrors the results of the RTL/ntv Trendbarometer survey.
