AfD Reaches Record 30% Support in German Poll, Outpacing Merz's Conservatives by 10 Points

A new opinion poll released by the GMS institute has found that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reached a record 30% level of support among German voters, according to Anadolu Agency, which cited the survey.

The same poll placed Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) alliance at 20%, meaning the AfD now leads the governing conservative bloc by 10 percentage points, Anadolu Agency reported.

The survey was published just days ahead of two state elections in Germany, according to the report, though the specific states and dates were not detailed in the available source material.

The AfD, which has been designated in parts of Germany as a suspected or confirmed extremist organization by domestic intelligence services, has seen its support grow steadily in recent polling, reflecting broader shifts in German political sentiment.

Anadolu Agency did not provide further details on the poll's methodology, sample size, or margin of error in the excerpt reviewed. Additional figures for other German political parties in the same survey were not specified in the available report.

The rise of the AfD in national polling comes amid ongoing debates in Germany over immigration, economic policy, and the stability of Merz's governing coalition. The chancellor's CDU/CSU has faced pressure on multiple fronts since taking office, though specific policy details were not addressed in the cited report.

Neither the GMS institute nor German government officials were quoted directly in the excerpt made available, and further confirmation of the poll's findings from additional sources was not immediately accessible.