The AfD is gaining more support than ever. Chancellor Olaf Scholz names what he thinks the right-wing populists benefit from.
Hamburg – The AfD is soaring in the polls – in a survey, the AfD reaches a record level of 19 percent. Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees uncertainty in times of crisis as the main reason for this. Also in view of the success of right-wing populist parties in other European countries, the question arises for him "Why are there such bad-mood parties?", said the SPD politician on Saturday evening (3 June) at the event "Long Night of Time" in Hamburg.
"We live in a time of upheaval, in which many citizens in our countries are not so sure whether the future is on their side and whether they have one." This creates uncertainty "and resonance for parties that praise the past in a bad mood".
AfD in the polls: Scholz fears "resonance chamber for the Trumpists"
In order to counter the populists, "we must ensure that Europe, our countries, have a future in which people can believe". Last but not least, it is about the question of "what holds a society together. The theme of respect," said the Chancellor. "If we can't manage to feel equality" for different career and life paths in a society that has become more open, "then we will have a lot of resonance space for the Trumpists, the Brexiteers or even for the AfD."
Another poll puts the AfD on a par with the SPD (symbolic image). © John MacDougall/AFP
The AfD had recently caught up with the SPD with 18 percent in the ARD "Germany trend". An Insa survey for the Bild am Sonntag sees the party, which is classified by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution as a right-wing extremist suspected case, even at 19 percent - also on a par with the SPD. (dpa/frs)
