A recent survey conducted in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt indicates a significant shift in voter preferences ahead of next year’s state elections The poll, carried out by Infratest dimap for MDR, “Mitteldeutsche Zeitung” and “Volksstimme” between August 28th and September 2nd among 1,167 eligible voters, reveals that the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has emerged as the strongest political force with 39 percent support
This represents a substantial increase of nearly ten percentage points compared to previous polls conducted earlier this year by Insa Conversely, support for the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) has declined to 27 percent, down from 32 to 34 percent in recent months
Other parties experienced more modest changes The Social Democratic Party (SPD) currently stands at 7 percent, while The Left party holds 13 percent and the BSW (Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht) 6 percent The Green party, currently represented in the state parliament, is projected to receive only 3 percent of the vote, potentially missing the threshold for re-entry The Free Democratic Party (FDP), currently part of the governing coalition, falls below the measurable threshold in the survey
Based on these figures, forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt without the AfD would likely require a three-party coalition including The Left The survey indicates that 47 percent of residents would prefer a CDU-led government, while 37 percent favor a government led by the AfD
Public assessment of the current black-red-yellow (CDU-SPD-FDP) state government is increasingly critical While over half of citizens expressed satisfaction with the government’s performance shortly after it took office, that figure has dropped to just 34 percent Now, 62 percent view its performance negatively
Among well-known politicians, State Premier Reiner Haseloff (CDU) maintains the highest approval ratings, with 59 percent of citizens satisfied with his work CDU top candidate Sven Schulze currently only convinces a fifth of voters, with almost half remaining unfamiliar with him AfD faction and state leader Ulrich Siegmund is also unknown to over half of respondents, but among those who are familiar with him, approvals exceed disapprovals (20 to 15 percent) SPD top candidate Armin Willingmann is also largely unknown to a majority of voters, receiving a slightly positive rating of 18 to 17 percent Lydia Hüskens (FDP), Eva von Angern (The Left) and Susan Sziborra-Seidlitz (Greens) have even lower approval ratings
Regarding key policy priorities, immigration and education are identified as the most pressing issues for voters Immigration has seen a significant increase in concern, rising from 3 percent in 2021 to 21 percent currently Education is considered the most urgent challenge by 13 percent of respondents The economic situation and labor market follow at 7 and 6 percent respectively, while a perceived “shift to the right” is identified as the top concern by 6 percent
The survey reveals a general sense of unease about the current situation in Saxony-Anhalt, with 71 percent of respondents expressing concern and only 20 percent remaining optimistic This sense of unease is particularly prevalent among supporters of the AfD (83 percent) and BSW (81 percent)