Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity has surged to a two-year high in Germany as voters cheered her management of the national economy and the eurozone crisis, a poll published Friday showed.

As some European neighbours criticise Merkel's hardline austerity-driven solutions for the sovereign debt crisis, 64 per cent of her constituents said they approved of her job performance, according to the poll for ARD television.

It was her highest share of the electorate since December 2009, three months after she was elected to a second term.

Merkel was bested only by her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a veteran politician who has been her right-hand man in the crisis. He drew approval from 65 per cent.

However approval of Merkel's centre-right government was far lower at 42 per cent amid infighting over issues including tax policy and privacy rights.

Respondents said they admired Merkel as "honest and not seeking her own advantage" (73 per cent), for taking "correct and decisive action" in the eurozone crisis (61 per cent) and for "not acting like a partisan politician but as someone who is above the fray" (55 per cent).

Eight-five percent appreciated "how she represents our country in the world."

Merkel, currently on a two-day trip to China, has also been buoyed by record-low unemployment and resilient economic growth while other euro countries bear the brunt of the crisis.

Scandal-wracked president Christian Wulff, whose office is largely ceremonial but who acts as a kind of moral arbiter for the country, fared far worse in the poll.

Only 33 per cent approved of his work in office and a dismal 16 per cent said he was honest. More than half -- 54 per cent -- said he should resign.

Wulff, who is a member of Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), has faced a series of allegations since December over his mortgage and dealings with wealthy friends while he was premier of his home state.

The CDU remained the most popular party with 36 percent while their partners, the Free Democrats, with just three percent, failed to reach the five-percent bar required for seats in parliament.

The opposition Social Democrats had 29 per cent, the Greens 15 per cent and the far-left Die Linke party claimed seven percent. The Pirates, a relatively new outfit advocating improved data protection and more transparency in politics, drew six-per cent support.

The Infratest Dimap independent opinion research firm said it polled 1,501 people between 30 January and 1 February with a margin of error of 1.4 to 3.1 per cent.