A new survey published on Sunday reveals the approval ratings of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have hit a new low following a challenging few months at the job.
The survey published by the Bild newspaper on Sunday came just days after Scholz was criticized for failing to respond to controversial comments made by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. When asked about the Palestinian massacre of Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympics, Abbas claimed Israel has committed "50 Holocausts".
According to the Bild poll, only 25% of Germans believe the Social Democratic Party leader is doing his job well, down from 46% in March. Some 62% of Germans think Scholz is doing his job badly, a record number, compared to just 39% in March.
He has previously served as deputy chancellor under veteran conservative leader Angela Merkel in the previous ruling coalition.
Since taking power, Scholz has had to deal with the war in Ukraine, an energy crisis, soaring inflation and now drought - all pushing Europe's largest economy to the brink of a recession. Critics have accused him of not showing sufficient leadership in dealing with the crises.
Support for his Social Democratic Party (SPD) stood at just 19%, the poll showed, well behind the opposition conservatives and junior coalition partners the Greens, and below the 25.7% the SPD took in the federal election last year.
On Friday, opposition lawmakers in Hamburg, accused the chancellor of obfuscating the truth at a hearing into a major tax scam that took place during his tenure as mayor of the northern port city - charges he denies.
After his lack of immediate response to the Palestinian president's comments, Scholz issued a written statement condemning Abbas' remarks. His spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said the chancellor made his views clear in a conversation with Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
“The chancellor emphasized that he sharply condemns any attempt to deny or relativize the Holocaust,” Hebestreit said. “The comments by President Abbas in Berlin were intolerable and completely unacceptable to (the chancellor) and the entire German government,” he said.
“Keeping alive the memory of the civilizational rupture of the Shoah is an everlasting responsibility of this and every German government,” he added, referring to the Holocaust by the commonly used Hebrew word.
Reuters contributed to this report