Germany's AfD hits record 28% support, overtaking ruling CDU/CSU in new poll

The far-right Alternative for Germany party has reached a record 28% support, surpassing the ruling CDU/CSU bloc for the first time, according to an Insa poll for Bild am Sonntag published Sunday.

Alternative for Germany (AfD) co-leader Alice Weidel looks on before casting her vote following a debate on reducing energy taxes at the lower house of parliament Bundestag session in Berlin, Germany, April 24, 2026.

REUTERS/Nadja Wohlleben

The result, up one percentage point from the previous week, exceeds AfD's previous polling high of 27% and is well above its 20.8% showing in February's federal election.

The CDU/CSU, which leads the government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stood at 24%, while coalition partner SPD polled at 14%. The Greens fell one point to 12%, the Left party registered 11%, and both BSW and the FDP remained below the 5% threshold needed to enter parliament.

The figures spell trouble for Merz's governing coalition: the CDU/CSU and SPD would no longer command a parliamentary majority and would need to bring in either the Greens or the Left to govern.

All other parties represented in the Bundestag rule out coalition with AfD, which advocates for the withdrawal of U.S. troops and nuclear weapons from Germany and the reopening of the Nord Stream pipeline.

The party, led by Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, is widely described as anti-immigration, EU-skeptic and, in the view of some commentators, sympathetic toward Russia.

(jh)

Source: Polish Radio