According to a recent survey, the AfD currently has 17 percent of the vote, its highest ever achieved at the federal level.
Munich – After the plight of the Greens around State Secretary Patrick Graichen and the ongoing criticism of Robert Habeck's (Greens) "heating law", it is perhaps not surprising that his party is losing support in the latest Forsa ranking. According to the current RTL/ntv "Trend Barometer", only 21 percent are behind Habeck's plans. And even fewer believe in its implementation: only 11 percent of the population see the adoption of the law by the beginning of July as realistic.
The protest actions of the "Last Generation" also continue to make waves around the topic of energy transition and climate change. While the CDU/CSU and CDU/CSU are losing one percentage point in the current RTL/ntv trend barometer, falling to 29 percent, the right-wing populists in particular seem to be benefiting from the developments.
AfD overtakes the Greens: 17 percent approval at the federal level
The AfD gains one percentage point and, at 17 percent, is currently at 13 percent in the Forsa trend barometer, the highest value ever determined for it at the federal level. At the beginning of the year, the AfD was still at 18 percent, putting it in fourth place among the parties. In the meantime, it has overtaken the Greens and is just behind the SPD: the Social Democrats with 14 percent, the Greens with <> percent, unchanged from the previous week.
The FDP and the Left Party also remain unchanged compared to the previous week, with 7 and 5 percent party preference among the German population. The other parties remain in their previous position with 10 percentage points. When asked which party is best able to cope with the problems in Germany, 57 percent of those surveyed answered with: none – just like in the previous week.
AfD is approaching the SPD – in some cases even the strongest force
According to ntv, the AfD is getting stronger month by month in Germany with regard to the latest Forsa survey results. The Federal Republic of Germany is threatened with a tipping point in its political architecture. Since the far-right party is now overtaking the Greens, it is inevitably approaching the SPD in terms of popular approval. In parts of East Germany, it is now even the strongest political force.
According to a recent survey, the AfD has achieved its best results in five years. © IMAGO/KH
Right-wing populist and popular? AfD sees polls as confirmation
Meanwhile, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Saxony-Anhalt has classified the state association of the AfD youth "Young Alternative" (JA) as a "secured right-wing extremist endeavor". This is reported by the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung (MZ), citing the State Ministry of the Interior.
A ministry spokeswoman said: "The YES stirs up hatred against refugees; it spreads xenophobic conspiracy narratives." The excluded also included people who were not heterosexual. AfD state leader Martin Reichardt described the decision as politically motivated. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is "an institution controlled by the establishment," Reichardt told the MZ. "Since the poll numbers are going up for us, the Young Alternative is now classified as right-wing extremist."
But where does the nevertheless strong influx come from? Many people see their opinions no longer – or not sufficiently – represented by the parties and in the leading media. And whether you share their opinion or not, if they don't find themselves there, they look for like-minded people elsewhere, or so the theory goes.
"Right-wing reactance": How green ideology is fueling the AfD's growth
The historian Andreas Rödder, who is involved in the development of the new CDU policy program, describes the effect on ntv as follows: "The more ideological the Greens appear and follow through with their policies, the stronger, as it is called socio-psychologically, the right-wing reactance becomes, which pays into the account of the AfD in Germany – and it doesn't even have to actively do anything about it."
The weakness of the traffic light government in Berlin, which is perceived by the population, is also not particularly helpful. A year ago, when the new coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP was still viewed with hope, Forsa determined poll values of only 8 percent for the AfD in the RTL/ntv trend barometer. And inflation and a new looming migration crisis are also fuelling the fears of the population, for which they obviously cannot find any trustworthy buyers in politics. (na)
