According to a recent survey conducted by Forsa, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) remains the most popular party in terms of voter preference. The weekly survey for RTL and ntv shows that the AfD has maintained its lead over the Union, which has fallen to 24 percent. The AfD’s voter preference stands at 26 percent, a two-point increase from the previous week.
The survey also shows that the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has lost one percentage point, bringing its voter preference to 14 percent. The Green Party has slightly improved, reaching 12 percent, while The Left has gained one point, reaching 10 percent. The BSW remains stable at four percent and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) has fallen to three percent. The “Other” category has risen to seven percent.
When it comes to political problem-solving competence, only 20 percent of respondents trust the Union to handle the challenges facing the country. The SPD has a seven percent trust rating, the Greens six percent and The Left five percent. Nearly half of the respondents (48 percent) believe that no party is capable of addressing the current challenges.
In terms of economic outlook, 54 percent of respondents expect a deterioration in the economic situation in the coming years, while only 21 percent anticipate an improvement and 22 percent expect no change.
Regarding the designee for the role of Federal Chancellor, Friedrich Merz (CDU), the level of trust remains low. Only 35 percent of respondents fully trust or largely trust him, while 63 percent express little or no trust. This lack of confidence is particularly strong in East Germany (71 percent), among AfD supporters (93 percent), The Left (76 percent) and the Greens (68 percent). Merz receives almost unanimous support from CDU/CSU voters (81 percent).
Looking ahead to the new government formed by the CDU/CSU and the SPD, 32 percent of citizens believe that Germany will be in a better position at the end of the legislative period than it is currently. 26 percent expect a deterioration and 37 percent anticipate no change. While 73 percent of CDU/CSU supporters are optimistic, only 37 percent of SPD supporters share this view.
At the same time, 70 percent of German citizens believe that a successful government led by the Union and the SPD would reduce the AfD’s share of the votes. 26 percent expect a significant decrease and 44 percent anticipate at least a slight decrease. Even among AfD voters, 55 percent believe that a successful government could lead to a loss of votes for their party. The data for party preferences were collected between April 22 and 28, with a sample size of 2,004 respondents. The data for the assessment of the new federal government and the future chancellor were collected between April 25 and 28, with a sample size of 1,003 respondents.