80% of Germans say dissatisfaction with government, support for ruling Social Democrats waning
A new poll shows a surge in support for far-right factions in Germany, raising concerns among the country’s mainstream centrist parties. Eighteen percent of voters now support the right-wing populist Alternative for Germany (AfD), tied with the ruling Social Democrats (SPD), a monthly survey by public broadcaster ARD published on Thursday showed.
Norbert Roettgen, a senior lawmaker for the main opposition Christian Democrats, which tops the polls with 29 percent, said the AfD was growing in popularity “disaster” that should be “It is understood as a warning signal to all parties in the central government.”
The AfD’s ratings have been climbing steadily lately, up 2% since last month. In the 2021 election, the party won just 10.3% of the vote. Respondents to Thursday’s poll said they backed the right-wing faction for its critical stance on immigration and opposition to the government’s overzealous climate and environmental energy policies.
However, two-thirds of those polled admitted they did not fully support the AfD’s policies and would vote for it out of frustration with mainstream parties and the federal government.
The AfD has also been accused of links to extremism by Germany’s domestic intelligence service, the BfV.The head of the agency recently warned “A striking resemblance” The period between now and the 1920s and 1930s saw the rise of political extremism that eventually led to Nazi rule.
Still, the faction is seen as likely to win the lion’s share of the vote in next year’s three-state election in eastern Germany.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Germans are disillusioned with Chancellor Olaf Schulz’s coalition government of the Social Democrats, Greens and Free Democrats (FDP), according to an ARD poll. After just a year and a half in power, all three have taken a hit in opinion polls, which show support for the federal government at just 20 per cent, the poll showed.
those dissatisfied with the so-called “Traffic Light Party” Saying they’re taking too long to resolve outstanding issues doesn’t give the country a clear direction. Many respondents also took issue with the administration’s controversial plan to replace the heating systems of millions of homes across the country and its insistence on increasing military aid to Ukraine.
