BERLIN: In a recent poll conducted by Germany’s public broadcaster, support for the liberal-left coalition government has hit an all-time low, standing at a mere 36 percent.
Simultaneously, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reached a historic high of 22 percent, signalling a significant shift in the country’s political landscape.
Released on a Thursday night, these numbers reveal that Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrat Party (SPD) has experienced a slight dip, falling by one percentage point from the previous month to settle at 16 percent.
The SPD’s coalition partner, the environmentally-focused Greens, has also lost one point, dropping to a 14 percent share of the vote. Meanwhile, the junior partner in the coalition, the Free Democratic Party (FDP), finds itself at 6 percent.
On the opposition front, Germany’s primary conservative alliance, consisting of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Christian Social Union (CSU), has garnered the support of 29 percent of respondents.
Most notably, the far-right AfD, which has been under intelligence surveillance for posing a threat to democracy, has seen its popularity reach an all-time high of 22 percent, as indicated by the ARD DeutschlandTrend survey.
German voters’ concerns
The poll also highlights a significant shift in the concerns of German voters. The economy has emerged as the foremost issue on their minds, with 46 percent expressing the expectation that the economic situation will worsen over the next year. Immigration follows closely behind at 26 percent, with climate change (18 percent), social inequality and poverty (16 percent), and government energy policies (9 percent) also making it onto the list of top concerns.
The AfD’s surge in popularity can be attributed to widespread dissatisfaction with the policies of the coalition government. Since the last election in 2021, the far-right party has doubled its vote share, capitalizing on this discontent.
Intriguingly, the latest poll indicates that a staggering 79 percent of respondents expressed either discontent or extreme dissatisfaction with the center-left liberal coalition government, leaving only 19 percent of voters in approval of its performance.
Notably, prominent members of the AfD have vocally criticized the Scholz government’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. They have opposed sending weapons to Ukraine and argued against ending energy imports from Russia, contending that such actions run counter to Germany’s national interests.
