As Anti-'Open Borders' Populism Spreads, Merkel & Macron's Poll Numbers Plunge

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron are now faced with their worst public approval ratings, hitting record lows, as conservatism and populism spreads across the European Union.

According to a YouGov poll released last Friday, Macron’s approval rating dropped by five points to 27% against 62% disapproval.

Notably, at this time last year, Macron’s approval rating was at 50%. The sharp drop in support comes after one of Macron’s bodyguards was filmed savagely beating a protester.

Macron’s former bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, hit and stomped a young man whilst wearing a police visor on May 1st. Benalla, who was not a policeman, had been given permission to “observe police operations” on his day off.

Many accused the incident of being covered up when it was not reported to police and that Benalla’s punishment – two weeks suspension without pay and being transferred to an administrative job – wasn’t enough.

Although the Benalla scandal certainly didn’t help Macron, his low approval numbers come after many conservative victories. In the last year, elections in Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Austria saw populist movements spring up with citizens voting for strong borders, to protect their heritage, and to reject globalism.

With Macron’s turbulent poll numbers, Germany’s Merkel is also experiencing less-than-stellar performance reviews after public support for her coalition government fell to 29%.

Merkel’s approval rating has fallen since she opened Germany’s borders to more than one million refugees and migrants during the peak of the immigration crisis. Her coalition government’s 29% rating is also the first time in history the alliance has ever dropped below 30%.

As detailed by Breitbart, Merkel barely won a fourth term in September 2017 – with the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) gaining ground.

The AfD also hit a new high of 17% support – and polls even showed that 74% of citizens were unhappy with the current German government.

More