Neck-and-neck: AfD and CDU/CSU deadlocked at top of German polls

Support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reached a new historic peak, climbing to 24.5%, according to the latest poll conducted by the INSA institute on behalf of Bild newspaper.

This result places the AfD on par with the conservative bloc of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) in the ranking of Germany’s political forces. While AfD’s support increased by 1 percentage point over the past week, the CDU/CSU lost 2 percentage points, bringing both parties to an equal standing at 24.5%.

Although this marks a new record high for AfD, Bild notes that the CDU/CSU is essentially returning to the level it held in 2021, the year it moved into opposition after the federal election.

“The majority of voters doubt that the coalition agreement between CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) is moving in the right direction,” said Hermann Binkert, head of INSA. However, he added that with a compelling coalition agreement, conservatives may still be able to reverse the trend.

Support for the SPD of acting Chancellor Olaf Scholz rose by 0.5 percentage points, now standing at 16%. Meanwhile, the Green Party saw a decline of 1.5 points, putting it on the same level as The Left (Die Linke), which remained unchanged at 10.5%.

The “Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice” also maintained its current level of 4.5%, while support for the Free Democratic Party (FDP) slightly increased by 0.5 percentage points, reaching 4%.

The poll was conducted between April 4 and April 7, with the participation of 2,008 respondents.

By Tamilla Hasanova