On 1 September 2013 Angela Merkel faced her challenger Peer Steinbrück in the televised debate before the federal election. During the debate she said: Sie kennen mich ja … You know me, after all. A Belgian newspaper reported that she added that Germany had had four good years. In surveys published by Statista, about 81 percent called her competent in 2013. In 2021, after eight more years in office, almost 80 percent still did.