By Gaby Mahlberg, dpa I Saturday, July 01, 2023
BERLIN – One-third of people surveyed in Germany this week see no danger to democracy in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a political party which is currently doing increasingly well in the polls.
The survey for national television network ZDF published on Friday revealed that around two-thirds of those questioned believe that the AfD poses a danger to democracy.
Broken down geographically, 68% of those surveyed in western Germany and 53% of those surveyed in eastern Germany believe this. A total of 32% of those queried see no threat to democracy from the AfD. The rest of the respondents responded with “don’t know.”
In addition, 78% assume that right-wing extremist views are widespread in the AfD, 19% said that they are not.
A majority of 55% does not want any political cooperation between the CDU/CSU, SPD, Greens, FDP and The Left with the AfD, according to a representative survey for the news magazine Focus.
On the other hand, 36% are against categorically ruling out coalitions with the AfD.
The rejection of such a “firewall” is particularly high among the supporters of the conservative CDU and CSU with 31% and highest among AfD supporters at 90%.
The CDU as a party completely ruled out any coalition or similar forms of cooperation with the AfD.
The 10-year-old party – which has campaigned on anti-immigrant rhetoric – has surged in popularity recently in opinion polls, especially in eastern Germany.
When asked which party they would vote for if national elections were held this coming Sunday, respondents to the ZDF poll again upped their support for the far-right party.
The AfD was polling at 19% in this week’s survey, up 1% against the previous week.
If there were a federal election on Sunday, the currently co-ruling SPD would only get 18% (down 1%), while the opposition CDU/CSU would remain at 28%.
The survey results for the Greens (16%) and the pro-business FDP (6%) – who are in a coalition in Berlin with Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s SPD – would also remain unchanged, as would the results for the far-left The Left (5%).
With such a result, neither the current coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP nor an alliance of the CDU/CSU and SPD would theoretically have enough votes to form a government.
The CDU/CSU, Greens and FDP could theoretically form a government, however.
