The far-right, neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany (AfD) has emerged as Germany’s most popular party, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) losing ground to slip into second place.

The far-right, neo-Nazi Alternative for Germany (AfD) has emerged as the most popular party in Germany.

A survey by Verial conducted during April 28-May 7 found AfD at the top with 25 per cent support whereas Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) lost support to slip into second place. The two were tied in the previous survey conducted a month ago.

The finding is the latest headache for Merz, who has been plagued internally by constant friction with his coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and externally by
a coercive campaign by US President Donald Trump.

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The support of the SPD is critical for Merz as that is the only way he can keep the AfD out of power. But the survey found that the SPD’s support has also declined.

Data: Verial survey (April 28-May 7)

The findings also have consequences for the European Union (EU) as Germany sends the most representatives —96— to the European Parliament. The AfD-led Europe of Sovereign Nations Group (ESN) bloc in the EU Parliament currently has 27 representatives.

Separately, 86 per cent of people reported dissatisfaction with Merz’s government, according to the latest ARD-Deutschlandtrend survey conducted on May 5-6.

The survey has never recorded such a high level of dissatisfaction with any government since it began in 1997.

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The dissatisfaction is rooted in a failure to deliver on electoral promises. In May 2025, Germans elected Merz with hopes of an economic recovery. But domestic friction, an adversarial America, and a global energy and economic crisis stemming from the West Asia war have derailed the agenda.

Even though the German economy expanded for the first time in 2025 under Merz, growth was a mere 0.2 per cent and the outlook does not look promising. Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has halved the forecast for 2026 to 0.5 per cent and said inflation could rise to 2.8 per cent due to the West Asia war.

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These are fertile grounds for the AfD to prosper.

As
Firstpost’s Madhur Sharma previously reported, the AfD’s rise is rooted in a reaction to migration and the accompanying economic and security crises that have plagued Germany for nearly a decade. Despite the neo-Nazi ideology underpinning the party, analysts have said many supporters are drawn by its radical economic promises rather than its extremist agenda.

Amid yearslong economic crisis conditions, the AfD, like other far-right movements in Europe, has called for an insular state that prioritises Germans over refugees or aid to Ukraine and that message has resonated with many people reeling from economic distress, Prof. Ummu Salma Bava, Chairperson and Jean Monnet Chair at the Centre for European Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi, told Sharma.

Last year, when the AfD had emerged as the second most popular party in Germany, Sharma had noted: “The message is clear: if they don’t clean up Germany’s socio-economic mess, their time is up and, just like AfD came from being a nobody to number two in a decade, it can very well form the government too in later elections.”

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First Published:
May 11, 2026, 09:15 IST

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