AfD's Alice Weidel Leads with 24% Support, Overtaking CDU's Friedrich Merz at 20% Ahead of German Elections

Dec 22, 2024, 12:54 PM

Alice Weidel, the leader of Germany's right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has emerged as the most popular candidate for chancellor in a recent poll conducted by the research institute INSA for the newspaper BILD. The poll, carried out between December 18 and 19, shows Weidel leading with 24% support, surpassing Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who trails with 20%. In contrast, incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) has 15% support, while Robert Habeck of the Greens stands at 14%. Weidel's lead is particularly pronounced in East Germany, where she garners 36% support compared to Merz's 16%. Among young voters aged 18 to 29, Weidel enjoys 23% support, significantly higher than Merz's 12%. This shift marks a notable change in voter preference ahead of the upcoming elections in Germany.