GERMANY: Popular support for Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and his ruling Social Democrats (SPD) has fallen to a historic low of 24 per cent, reflecting voter anger at government reforms, in particular botched healthcare laws.
An alarmed Mr Schröder has stepped in to halt any new reforms that would hit voters in the pocket, saying the polls showed voters are "simply furious".
Mr Schröder is now the second-most unpopular leader in German postwar history, according to the opinion poll for Stern magazine.
Another poll showed that only 14 per cent of the population is happy with Mr Schröder's work in government.
"Helmut Kohl had the trust of more voters at the time he was voted out of office," said Prof Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann, head of the Allensbach polling company.
One of the major causes of discontent is legislation to control costs in the healthcare system, but which has instead descended into farce since its introduction at the start of the year.
Anyone visiting the doctor now has to pay a €10 surgery fee and make a contribution to any medication prescribed. But the new legislation has caused huge anger because of countless loopholes and grey areas, so much so that the fee may be abolished.
The annoyance over healthcare reflects a general unhappiness with the current climate in Germany and, in particular, a lack of trust in the country's institutions. Just 18 per cent of those polled expressed trust in the work of the federal government, while only 12 per cent trusted political parties in general.
With more than four million unemployed and economic growth only slowly kicking in, yesterday's polls showed that Germans are mostly preoccupied with domestic affairs. One bit of positive news in the polls for Mr Schröder came on the international front: for the first time a majority of Germans supports sending German troops to Iraq with a UN mandate.