Politics · Germany · 3 hrs ago
AfD leads poll as CDU/CSU remain below 20 percent
A new poll in Germany puts the AfD first with 26 percent support, while the governing CDU/CSU alliance has 19 percent.
The Union has stayed below 20 percent for three weeks and is only narrowly ahead of the Greens.
The SPD is at 14 percent, the Left at 12 percent and the FDP at 4 percent.
The poll also found that 65 percent expect Merz to leave office before the next regular election, due in early 2029.
Just 11 percent said Merz still has his party under control, while 83 percent saw him losing authority.
The CDU has drafted a plan it says is needed to change the party’s fortunes, but the poll shows its support remains low.
The AfD leads the RTL/ntv Trendbarometer with 26 percent support.
The CDU and CSU have 19 percent, remaining below 20 percent for the third week in a row.
The Greens are close behind the Union, while the SPD stands at 14 percent and the Left at 12 percent.
Only 31 percent of respondents think Friedrich Merz will remain chancellor until the next regular federal election in early 2029.
The poll also found that 83 percent of respondents believe Merz has lost authority as CDU leader.
- Who
- The AfD, CDU/CSU and other German political parties, as measured in the RTL/ntv Trendbarometer.
- What
- The poll puts the AfD first at 26 percent and CDU/CSU at 19 percent.
- When
- Published on 13 October 2026. The poll’s fieldwork dates are not stated.
- Where
- Germany.
- Why
- The survey measured party support and views of Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The sources do not state why respondents chose their answers.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Greens presented their “Plan for Germany,” according to the article.
AfD politician Tobias Rausch was elected as the new president of the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament in a secret ballot that reportedly received four CDU votes.
The CDU held a leadership retreat and produced a paper titled “What needs to happen now.
Merz said there was agreement in his party that members who vote AfD politicians into governments or public offices should be expelled.
The RTL/ntv Trendbarometer was published, showing the AfD at 26 percent and CDU/CSU at 19 percent.
- AfD
- 26 percent
- CDU/CSU
- 19 percent
- Greens
- Close behind CDU/CSU; exact figure not stated
- SPD
- 14 percent
- The Left
- 12 percent
- Merz remaining chancellor until early 2029
- 31 percent believe he will remain in office









