A final poll ahead of tomorrow’s German election has predicted that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party will see a major increase in votes, but not enough to overtake Friedrich Merz of the CDU.
A little more than a month after German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier called for an election following a vote of no confidence against chancellor Olaf Scholz of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, Germans will have their chance to vote tomorrow.
And in what has been described as a ‘pivotal’ election for Europe’s largest economy, the country’s CDU, or conservative party, looks set to top the vote, according to the latest opinion polls.
The party, spearheaded by leader Friedrich Merz, sits top of today’s latest opinion polls and is predicted to win 29.7% of the vote, with Merz promising to ‘take responsibility in Europe’ if victorious.
‘The German government and chancellor must finally take on a leading role on the international stage,’ he said this week in front of 1,200 supporters in Darmstadt.
‘If I’m elected I will spend a significant part of my time keeping this European Union together.’
But the rise in popularity of the country’s far-right political party, AfD, is only set to continue, with opinion polls predicting that Alice Weidel and her party will garner 20.6% of the vote – moving it above the in-power SDP, currently in coalition with the Greens.
The anti-immigration AfD has enjoyed a surge in popularity of late, having moved from the fringes to the forefront of German politics, transforming into a hardline nationalist movement increasingly open to extremist elements, including neo-Nazis.
Activists wearing masks of AfD top candidate for Chancellor Alice Weidel, Elon Musk, US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and US Vice President JD Vance, protest against the support of the US and Russia for the far-right AfD party in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, February 20, 2025
Alice Weidel (pictured), leader of the AfD, has hit back at claims her party is reminiscent of Germany’s political post-World War Two history, calling such a claim ‘insulting’
Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany looks set to top the vote, according to the latest opinion poll
Weidel, the party’s first chancellor candidate, has focused on appealing to young voters having racked up more than 870,000 followers on TikTok. Securing support from the increasingly outspoken and influential Elon Musk, the party talks of tightening Germany’s borders and deporting migrants who came illegally and committed crimes.
Both the Greens and the SDP, currently partnered in a coalition, are projected to lose votes in tomorrow’s election with the former predicted to gain 12.9% of the vote and the SDP 15.5%.
SDP leader and current chancellor since 2021, however, Olaf Scholz is yet to lose hope of retaining his place in government, pinning his hopes on an estimated one in five undecided voters who could swing the situation in his favour.
But no party can govern without forming a coalition, meaning it could take weeks for Germany’s next government to be finalised.
Political experts, however, have predicted that the ‘extremism’ of the controversial AfD party is likely to be ‘tempered in some shape or form’ due to the structure of the country’s coalition system, which would mean the far-right party having to work with someone in order to gain a majority in parliament.
A final poll ahead of tomorrow’s German election has predicted that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) will see a major increase in votes, but not enough to overtake Friedrich Merz of the CDU
An election was called in Germany after chancellor Olaf Scholz (pictured) of the Social Democratic Party lost a vote of no confidence
Weidel’s party has fiercely divided opinion in Germany, with all of the other mainstream parties in the country ruling out a coalition with the AfD
Trump supporter and owner of X, Elon Musk, has expressed his support for the AfD and Alice Weidel
Supporters of the AfD gathered in Alice Weidel’s hometown in Switzerland ahead of tomorrow’s election
A man with an AfD flag wears a Trump ‘Make America Great’ cap at an election campaign rally of the far-right Alternative for Germany
Thousands of Germans have gathered in various towns and cities to protest against the rise of the far right
All of the other mainstream parties in Germany have ruled out working with the AfD in government, and continue to shun the party which remains under surveillance for suspected extremism.
Olaf Scholz, highly likely to be outgoing following tomorrow’s election, warned voters against backing the anti-immigration AfD, even citing Germany’s political history of post-World War Two extremism.
Weidel, however, hit back at Scholz’s warning, calling the comparisons between her party and the Nazis ‘scandalous.’
‘You can insult me all you want,’ she said, ‘but you are insulting millions of voters.’
In the run up to the election, many major German cities – including Mannheim, Solingen, Magdeburg, Aschaffemburg and Munich – all suffered attacks in the wake of the AfD’s surge in popularity.
Just last week in Munich, 28 people were injured, some critically, after a car crashed into a trade union demonstration near the Bavarian city’s main station. No one was killed, but a small child was said to have been in critical condition having sustained life-changing injuries.
Friedrich Merz of the CDU has vowed to return Germany to a ‘leading role on the international stage’
Thousands have protested against the ‘rise of the far right’ in Germany, with the AfD having been compared to the Nazi party
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In an another attack only last night, a Spanish tourist was stabbed at the Holocaust memorial in the centre of Berlin, though his wounds are not considered life-threatening.
Shockingly, all of the attackers were immigrants.
Last night in Solingen, near Dusseldorf, where a Syrian was accused of fatally stabbing three people to death in August 2024, hundreds of people turned out to speak out against the AfD.
One woman, 35-year-old Natalie, told the BBC: ‘We have a lot of friends who grew up in Germany whose parents did not.
‘We don’t want anybody to kick them out. We don’t want our borders closed.’
Germans will have the chance to see the candidates on their television screens for a final time tonight, with Friedrich Merz’s CDU holding a rally in Munich and Alice Weidel doing a ‘speed-dating’ programme with voters.
The predominant issues throughout the election have been reviving the economy, migration and security after German politics was significantly affected by the collapse of the previous government.
Millions of Germans hope tomorrow’s vote will bring some certainty to their democracy and economy, and the message from the current Chancellor Scholz: ‘Every vote counts!’