Germany's far-right AfD tops poll ahead of Merz's conservatives
A new opinion poll released on Saturday showed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) pulling ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives.
- World
- DPA
- Published Date: 07:59 | 04 April 2026
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) on Saturday drew ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservatives in a new opinion poll.
Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), dropped by one percentage point to 25% in the INSA poll for the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper.
The AfD, Germany's largest opposition party, was unchanged from last week's survey on 26%. The anti-immigrant party is under investigation by domestic intelligence services for its extremist views, but surged to second place in the 2025 parliamentary election.
In third place were Merz's centre-left coalition partners in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), down one point to 13%.
The opposition Greens and The Left were also unchanged at 12% and 11% respectively.
The margin of error was 2.9 percentage points, with 1,199 respondents participating in the survey.
Merz's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), dropped by one percentage point to 25% in the INSA poll for the Sunday edition of the Bild newspaper.
The AfD, Germany's largest opposition party, was unchanged from last week's survey on 26%. The anti-immigrant party is under investigation by domestic intelligence services for its extremist views, but surged to second place in the 2025 parliamentary election.
In third place were Merz's centre-left coalition partners in the Social Democratic Party (SPD), down one point to 13%.
The opposition Greens and The Left were also unchanged at 12% and 11% respectively.
The margin of error was 2.9 percentage points, with 1,199 respondents participating in the survey.
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