“Germany Needs New Elections!” – Right-Populist AfD Party’s New Record Polling High Sparks National Political Debate
Authored by John Cody via Remix News
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) continues its steady march higher in the polls, now reaching an all-time high of 19 per cent in the latest INSA poll conducted for the Bild newspaper.
The results have sent yet another “shockwave” through the political and media establishment, with politicians from both the left and the moderate Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) fiercely debating what is behind the rise of the AfD. The party is known for its strict anti-immigration stance, opposition to sanctions on Russia as well as German weapons being sent to Ukraine, and criticism of green energy policies being promoted by the left-liberal ruling government.
However, the term “shock” being used to describe the party’s rise in the polls is being rejected by the AfD’s Bundestag faction leader, Alice Weidel. “Every three days, the Bild has to announce an ‘AfD survey shock.’ That’s not a shock, that’s called democracy. And it shows that people have finally had enough of paternalism, cost increases and asylum chaos. Germany needs new elections!” wrote Weidel.
Bild has routinely published headlines, along with other newspapers, documenting growing alarm in the German political establishment over what has been the steady rise of the AfD in the polls, especially in the east of Germany. Now, according to the latest INSA poll, nearly one out of five Germans would vote for the party that every major party has vowed never to form a coalition with. A poll from state broadcaster ARD showed, just a week before, that the AfD had reached 18 per cent. The new raft of polls showing the AfD hitting new highs shows the party’s growth is no fluke.
Sonntagsfrage zur Bundestagswahl • INSA/BamS: CDU/CSU 27 % | SPD 19 % | AfD 19 % | GRÜNE 13 % | FDP 9 % | DIE LINKE 5 % | Sonstige 8 %
— Wahlrecht.de (@Wahlrecht_de) June 3, 2023
➤ Übersicht: https://t.co/MO5RyMFkPu
➤ Verlauf: https://t.co/mJRVJUWFRX pic.twitter.com/6LaKGugcSF
The party is not only at 19 per cent but is actually tied for second place in the country with the ruling SPD. Weidel is now repeatedly calling for new elections, pointing to an ARD poll showing that only 20 per cent of Germans are satisfied with the federal government, while 79 per cent are dissatisfied.
“The dwindling approval of the traffic light government shows very clearly that the Germans are no longer willing to accept that their interests are disregarded by politicians,” said Weidel.
Germany’s main political parties have now taken turns blaming each other for the continued rise of the AfD. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has labelled the AfD “the bad mood party” and says that when the situation improves in Germany, which he claims it will, AfD’s support will drop.
