Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has widened its lead over Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc to seven percentage points, according to an opinion poll released on Tuesday.
The survey, conducted by the INSA polling institute, put support for the anti-immigration AfD at 29 percent.
Meanwhile, Merz’s Christian Democratic Union and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU), fell to 22 percent – a drop of nearly seven points since the country’s February 2025 election.
The poll came amid slipping approval ratings for Merz and infighting within his coalition over spending priorities and long-promised reforms, ranging from military service to pensions, taxes and health care, as well as possible cuts to social programs.
Support for Merz’s junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), remained largely unchanged at 12.5 percent.
