About two-thirds of people in Germany regard the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) as a threat to democracy, according to a new Politbarometer poll conducted by Forschungsgruppe Wahlen for the broadcaster ZDF.
Asked whether the AfD poses a danger to democracy in the country, 68% of respondents said yes and 29% said no. The gap between east and west is marked: 42% of respondents in eastern Germany see no threat from the party, compared with 26% in the west.
A majority nevertheless does not support banning the party. Forty-three percent of those surveyed favoured an AfD ban, while 51% opposed one. According to Forschungsgruppe Wahlen, opposition to a ban is not limited to the party’s core supporters: most CDU/CSU voters (54%) and most FDP voters (55%) are also against it.
Opinion is similarly split on the so-called firewall — the principle that other parties should refuse to cooperate with the AfD. Forty-five percent say the other parties should not work with the AfD in principle. Fifty-three percent believe cooperation should be decided case by case. A hard refusal of contacts is backed by most supporters of the SPD (70%), the Greens (76%) and The Left (79%).
These views have little effect on party ratings. If a Bundestag election were held next Sunday, the AfD would remain the leading force on 28% (unchanged), with the CDU/CSU on 21%. The SPD would stay at 13%, the Greens would take 15% (up 1 percentage point), The Left 12% and the FDP 3%. On that result, a CDU/CSU–SPD coalition would fall short of a majority.
