The anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) has topped a national poll for the first time in the party’s history, as support for the incoming government continues to slide.
The German people have given their verdict on the new German government, a coalition agreed on Wednesday, before it even takes office. As the legacy ‘conservatives’ abandon their election-time promises of border controls to get into bed with the left, polling shows them falling yet again.
In what is just the latest worrying sign for Christian Democratic Union (CDU) boss Friedrich Merz’s incoming government, the latest Ipsos survey has found that the Union (CDU/CSU) has fallen below the AfD, which has become the most supported party throughout Germany for the first time since its founding in 2013.
According to the Ipsos survey, 25 per cent of the public now back the populist anti-mass migration party, an increase of three points over last month. Conversely, the formerly Merkel-led establishment ‘conservative’ Union saw its support fall by five points over the past month to 24 per cent.
Meanwhile, support for the Social Democrats (SPD), which despite an embarrassing historic election loss are set to return to government as the junior coalition partner to the Union, stands at 15 per cent, down from the 16.8 per cent won at the elections in February.
Commenting on the poll results, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel remarked: “For the first time in the AfD’s short history, we are the strongest party in Germany. Thank you for your tremendous trust – political change will come!”
Despite now being the most popular political party in the country and having finished in a strong second place in the federal elections, the AfD continues to persist under the so-called cordon sanitaire “firewall,” in which establishment parties refuse to work with the populist party.
Democracy Betrayed? Right Wing Dominates Germany Elections, But New Chancellor May Betray Voters to Partner With Left-Wing Coalitionhttps://t.co/23nSXT7O2n
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 24, 2025
The decision to keep the firewall in place was made by CDU leader and incoming Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has instead chosen to form a government with the leftist establishment Social Democrats.
To do so, Merz has been forced to backtrack on key pledges made during the election, such as abandoning his stance as a fiscal conservative and scrapping constitutional limits on government debt to finance a trillion euro spending package on defence, infrastructure, and so-called green energy projects.
Perhaps more significantly, the CDU boss was also forced to make concessions to the leftist SPD on immigration, including border protections and naturalisations.
The lengthy coalition negotiations, which finally concluded on Wednesday, have not only seen support for the Union decline but also clearly shaken public confidence in Merz.
The NTV/RTL trend barometer published this week found that just 32 per cent think that Merz will be a good chancellor, compared to 60 per cent who do not have faith in his abilities. This represents an eight per cent decline from the immediate aftermath of the election in March, when 40 per cent thought he would make a good leader of the country.
Should the incoming government fail to deliver on immigration and other areas, such as the faltering economy, it may allow the AfD to take power in the 2029 elections.
The EU-US Forum think tank commented: “After getting power, the CDU abandoned the very promises that got them elected. Now, the AfD is leading in Germany for the first time ever — and it’s no coincidence. The people want their country back.”
German AfD Blasts ‘Conservatives’ for Abandoning Migration Plans After Election https://t.co/Wm7QFHRfYl
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) March 28, 2025
