{"id":15891,"date":"2026-07-28T13:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:02:06","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-07-28T13:02:06","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T10:02:06","slug":"near-half-of-eastern-german-voters-back-afd-role-in-state-government-poll-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/near-half-of-eastern-german-voters-back-afd-role-in-state-government-poll-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Near-half of eastern German voters back AfD role in state government, poll shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly half of voters in eastern Germany believe the Alternative for Germany (AfD) should enter government if the far-right party emerges as the largest force in upcoming state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to a survey<\/a><\/span> conducted by opinion research institute YouGov.<\/p>\n

In the poll commissioned by the German Press Agency (dpa), 47% of respondents in eastern Germany expressed support for AfD participation in government under those conditions. By comparison, 37% of respondents in western Germany held the same view.<\/p>\n

Participants were asked to consider a scenario following the state elections scheduled for September, in which the AfD finishes ahead of all other parties but fails to secure an absolute majority.<\/p>\n

Under that scenario, 29% of eastern respondents said all other political parties should unite to form a state government excluding the AfD. In western Germany, 36% supported that approach.<\/p>\n

In the same situation, 11% of eastern Germans and 12% of western Germans believed holding new elections would be the correct path. A further 13% in the east and 15% in the west were undecided.<\/p>\n

YouGov surveyed 1,573 people in western Germany and 1,570 in eastern Germany. According to the polling firm, the results are representative for both regions.<\/p>\n

In eastern Germany, 38% of respondents believed that including the AfD in a governing coalition would strengthen democracy, while 34% felt it would weaken it.<\/p>\n

In western Germany, the distribution was reversed: 30% expected democracy to be strengthened, whereas 47% believed democracy would be weakened in such a scenario.<\/p>\n

A single-party government led by the AfD met with widespread skepticism in both regions. Only 30% of respondents in the east and 21% in the west expected an AfD-led solo government to strengthen democracy.<\/p>\n

Conversely, 57% of respondents in the west and 44% in the east expressed concern that a solo AfD government would weaken democracy.<\/p>\n

Participants were also questioned about a proposed “government of experts” model featuring shifting parliamentary majorities that would include the AfD.<\/p>\n

According to the poll, 44% of eastern respondents and 39% of western respondents saw potential benefits in this framework.<\/p>\n

However, 29% in the east and 34% in the west voiced partial or complete opposition to such a model.<\/p>\n

In both regions, 27% of respondents answered that they did not know.<\/p>\n

The expert government concept has been primarily advocated by the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW).<\/p>\n

Opinion polls are inherently subject to uncertainties. Factors including declining party loyalty and a growing tendency toward late voting decisions increasingly complicate data interpretation for polling agencies.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly half of voters in eastern Germany believe the Alternative for Germany (AfD) should enter government if the far-right party emerges as the largest force in upcoming state elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, according to a survey conducted by opinion research institute YouGov. In the poll commissioned by the German Press Agency (dpa), 47% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15892,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1483,5706,2454,3576,860,20714,7069,20717,20715,543,19973,20716,3432,15645,2500,19761,7070,6322],"class_list":["post-15891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-afd","tag-alternative-for-germany","tag-bsw","tag-coalition-government","tag-democracy","tag-dpa","tag-eastern-germany","tag-expert-government-model","tag-german-press-agency","tag-germany","tag-mecklenburg-western-pomerania","tag-political-polling","tag-sahra-wagenknecht-alliance","tag-saxony-anhalt","tag-state-elections","tag-voter-sentiment","tag-western-germany","tag-yougov"],"yoast_head":"\nNear-half of eastern German voters back AfD role in state government, poll shows - 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