Nearly half of Germans are unafraid of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), according to a survey by the opinion research institute Insa, ahead of three critical state elections next month.
The anti-immigrant nationalist party is soaring in popularity, polling ahead of all others, surveys show.
The Insa poll asked respondents: “Are you afraid of the AfD?” Some 49% answered “No”, while 42% answered “Yes,” and 9% did not answer.
The survey, commissioned by the Bild tabloid, found people over the age of 70 were most afraid of the party, with 55% saying yes, they do fear the AfD.
More than half of the 1,002 respondents consider the AfD to be far-right, with 53% saying “Yes” when asked, the poll found. Some 37% did not regard the AfD as far-right, and 10% did not respond.
The AfD, Germany’s largest opposition party, was founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party then shifted direction to focus on reducing migration.
At state level, Germany’s domestic intelligence service has classified the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed far-right extremist group. That state is set to hold elections on September 6 and the party is clearly in the lead there, with 41% to 43% support.
In Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, too, officials classify the party’s state branches as far-right extremist.
Just under one in two would distance themselves from AfD
Germany is bracing for three state elections next month, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Berlin alongside Saxony-Anhalt. Lawmakers are increasingly discussing how far they would be willing to cooperate with the AfD in state coalitions.
Just under one in two respondents to the poll (48%) approved when asked whether Germany’s mainstream parties – the Christian Democratic Union, Christian Social Union, Social Democratic Party, Greens and The Left – should avoid forming a government with the AfD, as they have so far done under a police known as the “firewall.”
Some 39% said it was wrong to avoid governing with the AfD, while 13% did not respond or replied “Don’t know.”
Lawmakers remain divided over whether to apply to the top constitutional court to ban the AfD. Respondents too were unsure, with 42% in favour, 42% against and 16% not giving an answer.
Insa polled 1,202 people for the survey on August 20 and 21.
FILE PHOTO – Martin Reichardt, state chairman of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, addresses the delegates at the AfD Saxony-Anhalt state party convention. A new state executive committee is to be elected at the convention. (is associated with: «One in two Germans unafraid of far-right AfD party ahead of elections») Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa