Why the AfD are Surging in the Polls

Sign up to Brilliant for free and you’ll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription: https://brilliant.org/tldr/

Daily Briefing on YouTube: https://youtube.com/tldrdaily
… or search for the Daily Briefing in your favourite podcast app

Despite Freidrich Merz’s CDU/CSU victory at the German federal election a few months ago, their polling numbers appear to be dropping with some polls suggesting that the AfD is, for the first time ever, the most popular party in Germany. In this video, we’re taking a look at why the AfD have surged in the polls, and what it might mean for German politics.

📰 Too Long: https://toolong.news/
💡 Got a Topic Suggestion? – https://forms.gle/mahEFmsW1yGTNEYXA

Our mission is to explain news and politics in an impartial, efficient, and accessible way, balancing import and interest while fostering independent thought.

TLDR is a completely independent & privately owned media company that’s not afraid to tackle the issues we think are most important. The channel is run by a small group of young people, with us hoping to pass on our enthusiasm for politics to other young people. We are primarily fan sourced with most of our funding coming from donations and ad revenue. No shady corporations, no one telling us what to say. We can’t wait to grow further and help more people get informed. Help support us by subscribing, engaging and sharing. Thanks!

1 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2025_German_federal_election
2 – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_German_federal_election
3 – https://www.wahlrecht.de/umfragen/ipsos.htm
4 – https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/2025-04/Politische-Meinungslage_Ipsos-Report-Apr-2025_final.pdf
5 – https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/deutschlandtrend/deutschlandtrend-3470.html
6 – https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/berlin-bulletin/merz-the-merkelian
7 – https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-friedrich-merz-germany-eu-debt-dinances-france-italy
8 – https://themunicheye.com/cdu-general-secretary-carsten-linnemann-declines-ministerial-role-18594
9 – https://www.delorscentre.eu/en/publications/detail/publication/the-german-coalition-agreement-whats-in-it-for-europe
10 – https://www.hungarianconservative.com/articles/current/cdu-afd-poll-record-merz-migration-debt
11 – https://www.politico.eu/newsletter/berlin-bulletin/merzs-short-honeymoon
12 – https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-conservatives-boycott-far-right-rethink-afd-cdu-friedrich-merz-spd

00:00 – Introduction
01:07 – AfD’s Recent Poll Surge
03:03 – Why?
03:25 – Debt
04:51 – Immigration
05:50 – Climate
06:43 – What Next?
07:23 – Sponsored Content

source