A new ZDF Politbarometer survey indicates a shift in Germany’s political landscape, with the CDU/CSU bloc demonstrating a renewed ability to distance itself from the AfD. Should a federal election occur next Sunday, the survey by the Mannheim-based Forschungsgruppe Wahlen suggests CDU/CSU would garner 27 percent of the vote, a gain of one percentage point. The AfD is projected to receive 25 percent, also an increase of one percentage point, while the SPD remains stable at 15 percent.
The Green Party is showing potential for growth, edging up to 11 percent (+1), mirroring the slight increase for the AfD. The Left party holds steady at 11 percent and the FDP remains at 3 percent. All other parties combined are expected to receive 8 percent (-1), with no single party exceeding the three percent threshold. Under these projections, a coalition government of CDU/CSU and SPD would continue to lack a parliamentary majority.
Reflecting on the 35th anniversary of German reunification, the survey reveals that a significant proportion of the population believes that the challenges stemming from reunification remain largely unresolved. Nearly half (47 percent) of respondents in Western Germany hold this view, while a majority (57 percent) in Eastern Germany share the sentiment.
Perceptions of reunification’s impact on personal lives differ substantially between East and West. A considerable 62 percent of those surveyed in Eastern Germany report positive impacts from reunification, contrasted with only 9 percent who view the effects as negative. In Western Germany, however, a prevailing 64 percent indicate that reunification has had little influence on their lives, while 29 percent cite positive impacts and just 3 percent report negative ones.
The Politbarometer survey, conducted by the Mannheim Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, collected data through telephone and online interviews with 1,300 eligible voters between September 29th and October 1st, 2025.