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A recent poll conducted by the INSA polling firm for BILD newspaper has revealed a significant surge in support for Alice Weidel, the leader of the anti-mass migration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Weidel has emerged as the frontrunner in the race for preferred chancellor, surpassing Friedrich Merz, the leader of the centrist neo-liberal Christian Democratic Union (CDU).
The survey, which polled 1,005 individuals between December 18th and 19th, showed Weidel gaining three points from the previous week, reaching 24 percent support, while Merz dropped one point to 20 percent. Meanwhile, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the current candidate for the leftist Social Democrat Party (SPD), languished in third place with 15 percent support, a one-point decrease from the previous week. Robert Habeck, the chancellor candidate for the Greens and the current Economic Minister, followed closely behind with 14 percent.
🚨🇩🇪 BREAKING: ALICE WEIDEL of Germany’s AfD Party is now the MOST POPULAR candidate for Chancellor ahead of the upcoming elections. pic.twitter.com/saIeaSOMES
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) December 22, 2024
The timing of the poll coincided with the day before the devastating Christmas market attack in Magdeburg, which left at least five people dead and over 200 injured. The attack, allegedly carried out by a migrant from Saudi Arabia who was granted asylum in 2016 under the CDU government of Angela Merkel, is expected to play a significant role in shaping the upcoming February 23rd elections.
Weidel’s surge in the polls was further bolstered by the endorsement of her party by X owner Elon Musk, who declared that “only the AfD can save Germany.” However, Musk’s expression of personal opinion on German politics has been met with criticism from leftists in Germany and globalists within the European Union, who have labeled it as election “interference.”
“No outside interference in the German election campaign – that is a principle that we have to defend,” said Matthias Miersch, the general secretary of the governing Social Democrats. “We oppose this clearly: Germany needs neither foreign influences nor Trumpism. Stay out, Elon.”
Former EU censorship czar, Thierry Breton, who was previously accused of meddling in the U.S. presidential election by demanding that Musk censor a live interview he held with Donald Trump, also alleged that Musk’s support for the AfD constituted “interference.”
Dear @elonmusk,
Thank you so much for your note. The Alternative for Germany is indeed the one and only alternative for our country; our very last option. I wish you and President Donald #Trump all the best for the upcoming tenure! And also, I wish you and all the American people… pic.twitter.com/iVBfPDoRfp— Alice Weidel (@Alice_Weidel) December 20, 2024
However, the German government has refused to condemn Musk for his comments, with spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann stating, “We have of course taken note of this and of course freedom of expression also applies to X.”
Despite Weidel and the AfD’s surge in the polls, it remains unlikely that the party will enter government following the February elections, as all other political parties have agreed to a cordon sanitaire around the AfD, meaning they refuse to form a coalition with the right-wing party.
As a result, the supposedly centre-right CDU/CSU party may be forced into partnering with the leftist SPD of Chancellor Scholz to form a government, a move that would likely entail concessions to the left on migration, fiscal, and energy policies.
