Male, rural, middle-aged
Survey shows characteristics of AfD voters
06/20/2023, 2:25 p.m
The AfD is on the up – despite all warnings about its anti-democratic goals. A survey commissioned by RTL and ntv shows the typical characteristics of AfD sympathizers – be it gender, origin, religion or age.
The AfD can defend its record poll value of 19 percent in the RTL/ntv trend barometer. Despite numerous warnings from the media, experts and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution about its extremist tendencies, the AfD is apparently on the verge of becoming a people’s party. This is also shown by a detailed survey by the Forsa Institute among AfD supporters. For example, support for the party among employed people is slightly higher than the average at 21 percent. The AfD is also relatively strong with 15 percent in the group of pensioners, who are demographically particularly well represented at the ballot box. Among schoolchildren and students, on the other hand, only 5 percent of respondents would vote for the AfD.
This fits in with the fact that the party enjoys the lowest support among 18 to 29 year olds at 14 percent, and among voters over 60 it is 15 percent. 21 percent of 30 to 44 year olds say they want to vote for the AfD. Among the 45 to 59 year olds it is even 24 percent.
Male, rural, non-denominational
The fact that 19 percent of union members say they want to vote for the AfD fits in with the high proportion of employed people among AfD sympathizers. The German trade unions are clearly distancing themselves from the AfD. Religious affiliation seems to play a more important role. According to their own statements, only 14 percent of Catholics surveyed would vote for the AfD, and 15 percent of Protestants. Among non-denominational respondents, 24 percent said they would.
It is known that the AfD primarily appeals to men. In the Forsa survey, 23 percent of men said they wanted to vote for the AfD, but only 15 percent of women. Sorted by the size of the place of residence of the respondents, the support for the AfD is particularly high in rural areas. Twenty-five percent of residents in places with fewer than 5,000 residents say they want to vote for the AfD. In places between 5,000 and 25,000 inhabitants it is 21 percent. Among the residents of cities between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants, approval for the AfD is only 14 percent. In the even larger cities it is only 12 percent. In fact, the AfD has so far achieved its highest election results, especially in the eastern German states with comparatively few large cities, while the popularity in large cities has always been low.
Encouragement from almost all party camps
AfD voters, as earlier Forsa surveys have also shown, rate the overall situation more pessimistically than the average. In the latest RTL/ntv trend barometer, 63 percent of all respondents expect the economic situation to deteriorate. In this group, 27 percent say they want to vote for the AfD.
The question of voting behavior in the last federal election is also revealing. 32 percent of those who did not vote at the time would vote for the AfD today, followed by 15 percent of those who voted at the time for the FDP and 10 percent of those who voted at the time for the CDU. 9 percent of former Left voters also say they want to vote for the AfD. Among the voters of the SPD and CSU it is 7 percent, among those of the Greens 2 percent. Of the AfD sympathizers, 48 percent politically right-wing. 19 percent see themselves politically in the middle.