A few days after the poll by the institute Insa on behalf of the newspaper Bild, a new poll by the institute infratest/dimap for the first program of the public television ARD (Deutschlandtrend) gives the ethno-populist Alternative for Germany a percentage of around 20%, doubling its percentages from the 2021 federal election and confirming the trend that has long put her firmly in second place.

First come the Christian Democrats/Christian Socialists with 28%, third are the Social Democrats of Olaf Solz with 18%, followed by the Greens with 14%, with the worst percentage since 2018, the Liberals at 7% and the Left extremely low at 4%.

Fewer now consider it AfD “far right”

According to the new poll, 77% of respondents say they are “concerned” about the political situation in Germany. The majority is not satisfied with the handling of the coalition government and its actions so far, while other reasons for concern have to do with inflation, climate and energy policy, immigration, the war in Ukraine. However, only 15% are worried about the rise of the extreme right in Germany as well.

But the interesting element of the new poll has to do with the fact that 69% of respondents consider the AfD far-right, while in 2018 the same percentage was 85%. 55% consider that the Alternative for Germany does not solve any problems with its proposals, but “tells things as they are”. In fact, among AfD supporters, it seems that six out of ten now see cooperation with other parties positively and only three out of six exclude it.

The three parties of the current joint government, Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals, reject by majority any possible post-election cooperation with the AfD, while it is worth paying particular attention to the opinion poll findings regarding the Christian Union. Although 51% reject the possibility of cooperation with the Alternative for Germany, 37% consider that any post-election cooperation should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and 7% would not consider such an alliance problematic.

THE AfD MP Harald Weil in DW

In an interview with DW Politics, Harald Weil, Member of Parliament for the Alternative for Germany and Professor of Economics, states among other things: “We are the only party that has a reliable program, the only party that has not wasted its political capital. We are here for every responsible voter, every informed voter. The only way out and the last chance for change in Germany.”

Commenting on his party’s doubling in opinion polls, from 10% to 20% – 21%, Harald Weil analyzes the profile of the party’s new voters: “Too many voters who traditionally voted in tenths for other parties now feel that the AfD is the only centrist, center-right party left because all the other parties have shown that they are more or less left-wing.”

With roots in the years of the euro crisis

According to an interview with DW by Hayo Hunke, an expert on far-right issues, for some time in Germany this particular “far-right, racist and anti-democratic party is gaining more and more ground, starting mainly in the states of eastern Germany” but now threatening democracy in Germany as a whole .

For his part, political scientist Karl Rudolf Korte, speaking to DW, sees the Alternative for Germany “as a classic protest party, which differs from other parties in that it is against everyone.”

He also recalls the roots of this party in Germany: “It started on the occasion of economic issues during the period of the euro crisis. He was against financial policy in Europe and the eurozone. Then he focused on refugees and immigration, issues that are still very topical in Germany, on the world’s disappointment with politicians but also on the issue of the climate crisis and the environment.”