rigorous poll - No more citizens' allowance for those who refuse to work?
It is unclear whether it's about tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. In any case, the debate revolves around a significant number of citizen's income recipients who could potentially work but refuse to take a job. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann has received much criticism for his proposal to completely cut the benefit for those who refuse to work.
However, it seems the politician has struck a nerve. 56 percent of Germans think it's right to completely withdraw citizen's income from those who refuse to work, according to a Forsa poll for Der Spiegel. 40 percent find this too harsh, while 4 percent have no opinion.
Workers support harsh sanctions for citizen's income recipients
Especially East Germans (62 percent), workers (73 percent), and voters who identify as "right" (80 percent) support a tougher stance against those who refuse to work. But even "centrist" voters agree by 65 percent. Only those who identify as "left" oppose the plans by 64 percent.
Accordingly, supporters of AfD are in favor by 78 percent, FDP by 71 percent, and CDU/CSU by 68 percent. Even 61 percent of those who support the alliance of Sahra Wagenknecht agree. Only supporters of the Greens (75 percent) and the SPD (58 percent) find a complete withdrawal too harsh.
How difficult this issue is for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's party is shown by another finding. Forsa also asked the opinion of voters who have turned away from the SPD since the 2021 federal election: They also agree by 57 percent that a complete withdrawal for those who refuse to work is right.
Forsa CEO Manfred Güllner finds these results unsurprising. In earlier surveys, a majority of Germans had expressed reservations about citizen's income in its current form. "Only a minority in the green/left camp supports the concept of citizen's income," Güllner said, "due to the widespread skepticism, the SPD cannot benefit from having introduced citizen's income to overcome its Hartz-IV trauma."
The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute Forsa for Der Spiegel and RTL Germany on August 1 and 2, 2024, via telephone. Sample size: 1001 respondents. The survey is representative. Statistical error tolerance: +/- 3 percentage points
The CDU, led by General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, has been faced with criticism for proposing to completely cut the citizen's income for those who refuse to work. The proposal resonates with a majority of Germans, as 56% believe it's right to withdraw the benefit in such cases, according to a Forsa poll for Der Spiegel.
