For the first time in history, the AfD has reached 30% in the polls. And it is a full ten points behind the CDU: the Christian Democrats are estimated at 20%. Compared to the last poll in mid-July by the same institute, Gms, the AfD has gained two points, while the CDU has lost three.
Meanwhile, the two government parties, the CDU and the SPD, no longer have an absolute majority: the Social Democrats are at 11%. The Greens and the Linke have gained one point each and are ranked at 14% and 11% respectively. And, if the elections for the renewal of the Bundestag were held today, neither Sahra Wagenknecht's party nor the liberal FDP would pass the 5% electoral threshold.
On the eve of next Sunday's elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, where the CDU risks another major setback, rumors continue to circulate about a possible departure of Friedrich Merz and a change of chancellor in the middle of the term, after the regional elections.
Replacing him would avoid a real government crisis: neither the CDU nor the SPD, of course, want to go to early elections. Currently, the two names mentioned as possible candidates to replace Merz are: the governor of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, on whom speculation has focused for months, and the governor of Bavaria, Markus Söder, who has recently been added to the list of possible names.
But Merz's popularity polls - he is at just 14%, a historic low - explain why even in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, after Saxony-Anhalt, the party's regional leaders have made it clear that he should stay as far away from their election campaign as possible. Moreover, the party's main candidate, Daniel Peters, is facing an internal rebellion that is growing stronger by the hour.
A section of the CDU in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to abandon the "cordon sanitaire" and form an alliance with the AfD. The premise is that the Christian Democrats are fighting for survival. They are at 7%, just above the electoral threshold to enter the state parliament. Some of the leading local figures, who come from the Greifswald area, where the AfD is traditionally strong, are seeking to extend a hand to the far right.
Sascha Ott, for example, calls for us to be “open to talks, even with the AfD.” The cordon sanitaire, he added, “has only shrunk the CDU.” Axel Hochschild also wants to “remove” the ban on forming alliances with the far right. Leading candidate Peters reiterated yesterday that “we reject any coalition or other form of cooperation with the AfD.” But the question is how long this resistance can last.
Especially after the newspaper Bild brought to attention yesterday another gloomy scenario that is said to be circulating in Berlin: a section of the CDU at the national level is once again exerting pressure for Merz to leave the coalition with the SPD and lead a minority government, which would be able to cooperate with all parties. Including the AfD.