Election expert: AfD support now spans all population groups

The AfD can no longer rely on one narrow segment of voters in Saxony-Anhalt, according to election expert Stefan Merz. A party polling at around 40 percent, he said, must draw support from across society.

Merz, of polling institute Infratest dimap, made the assessment in an interview with Deutschlandfunk ahead of the state election on September 6. The AfD, which the state Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as confirmed far-right, is well ahead of the CDU in current polls. The CDU governs the state with the SPD and FDP.

The differences between voter groups have not disappeared, Merz said, but they are now gradual rather than decisive. Men choose the AfD considerably more often than women, while younger and middle-aged voters support it more often than older people. Working people are more likely to vote for the party than pensioners, and among working people, workers support it more often than employees and civil servants.

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A party that is polling at around 40 percent can no longer rely on just one particular population group.

Education and location also shape the pattern. People without an upper-secondary qualification vote for the AfD more often than those with one. Support is also stronger in rural areas and small towns than in large cities.

But these differences do not mean the party lacks support elsewhere. Women vote for the AfD less often than men, Merz said, yet polling currently shows it as the strongest party among women in Saxony-Anhalt as well.

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By now, we have to say that the AfD is finding support in all population groups.