Germany’s far-right AfD hits record support in latest poll

BERLIN

Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has reached a record high in public support, rising to 23.5% in a new poll released Tuesday and significantly closing the gap with the country’s leading conservative alliance.

“This is the highest value ever measured for the AfD in the INSA opinion trend,” Hermann Binkert, head of the INSA polling institute, told Bild daily.

The conservative alliance of Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), polled at 27%, falling 1.5 percentage points since their Feb. 23 election victory.

The AfD gained nearly three points since the election, narrowing the gap with the CDU/CSU to just 3.5 percentage points – down from almost eight points a month ago.

The party's rise comes amid growing voter frustration with traditional parties and concerns over immigration and economic issues.

INSA’s analysis suggests support for the AfD could reach as high as 30.5%. However, other parties maintain higher theoretical ceilings: the CDU/CSU could reach up to 42%, while the center-left Social Democratic Party could climb to 39.5%.

Among other parties, the Greens rose slightly to 12%. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party fell to 14.5%. The liberal FDP polled at 3.5%, and the socialist Left Party saw a notable improvement, reaching 10.5%.

In last month’s parliamentary elections, the CDU/CSU emerged as the strongest force with 28.5% of the vote, though it fell short of an outright majority.

The Social Democrats, despite seeing their lowest historical result at 16.4%, have positioned themselves as a crucial coalition partner. The two parties together would hold 328 seats in the Bundestag, comfortably surpassing the 316-seat requirement for a governing majority.

Merz has stated his intention to complete coalition negotiations with the Social Democrats and form a government within the next month, citing urgent domestic economic challenges and mounting international security concerns.