Friedrich Merz (CDU) on 26 May 2023 in the German Bundestag (archive image). © IMAGO / Political-Moments
The right-wing populist AfD recently achieved record results in polls. According to CDU leader Friedrich Merz, gendering is to blame.
Berlin – The AfD is at a high in the polls. In the poll conducted by the Insa Institute for Bild am Sonntag, the party reached a peak of 19 percent, putting it on a par with the SPD. At least from the point of view of CDU leader Friedrich Merz, one culprit is quickly found: gender language. In a Twitter post, he elaborates on his thoughts in more detail and gets over ten thousand "likes", but also a lot of headwind.
The poll result of 19 percent was the highest value that a polling institute has ever measured for the AfD. According to Merz, the use of gender-neutral language is one of the reasons for the rise of right-wing populists in opinion polls. "With every gendered news broadcast, a few hundred more votes go to the AfD," he wrote on Saturday in his weekly newsletter "MerzMail". The CDU leader also posted a corresponding excerpt on Twitter. "Opposing language and identitarian ideology are no longer quietly rejected by a large majority of the population," Merz continued. They would be perceived as "abusive."
Reactions to Merz: "The situation is serious and he is just rushing around!"
"With each such tweet, a few hundred more votes go to the AfD," wrote a Twitter user ironically under the post of the CDU chief. But Merz didn't just face headwinds. Saxony-Anhalt's Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff (CDU) made a similar statement at the weekend. "There is a war going on in Ukraine, and we are taking care of trivialities such as gender-neutral language. That's absurd," said the CDU politician. Meanwhile, the German Journalists' Association (DJV) criticized the statements of CDU leader Merz as "sheer populism".
"The situation is serious and he is just rushing through the area," wrote Green politician Renate Künast on Twitter. "How about concepts?" asked Kuenast, accusing Merz of "driving votes to the AfD through agitation." In addition to gender language, Merz also identified a "weak and constantly arguing government" as the reason for the strengthening of the AfD in his newsletter. "Instead of pointing the finger at others and monocausal blame, all democratic parties should also consider together how effective strategies against the AfD look," commented Green Party leader Ricarda Lang on Twitter. Everyone bears a piece of responsibility, Lang continued.
Poll high for right-wing populist party: These are the reasons given by AfD voters for their tendency
The strong poll result of the AfD was apparently not a slip, even in the Germany trend published on Thursday, the AfD came to 18 percent. According to their own statements, the AfD voters opted for this party (65 percent) because of the issue of immigration and migration policy, whereby multiple answers were possible. 47 percent cited energy policy, environment and climate policy as reasons, 43 percent economy and 29 percent social issues as reasons for their decision. Discussions about equality played a role for only ten percent and the opposition to the federal government was a reason for five percent, according to the Deutschlandtrend survey.
The AfD performed particularly well in the eastern German states, including Berlin. There, according to the Insa survey, it came to 30 percent, in the west it is 16 percent. In the east, the AfD is clearly ahead of the CDU/CSU, which is quoted at 25 percent. In attempts to explain the party's strong performance, dissatisfaction with the traffic light, the new heating law and disappointment with "politics" are considered the most obvious reasons, along with migration policy, inflation and the Ukraine war. 67 percent of voters said they wanted to vote for the AfD out of disappointment with other parties. Although the traffic light coalition is at a low in the polls, according to the Insa survey, 25 percent would currently opt for Olaf Scholz (SPD) as chancellor, but only 20 percent for CDU leader Friedrich Merz. (Bettina Menzel)
