Profile of the far-right voter in Germany: men aged 35 to 44 with economic difficulties

The characteristics of these voters are associated with critical stances regarding immigration and globalization, which are precisely the issues that the party addresses.

The ultraderecha is on its way back to Germany (which may have never gone away). The political party of national-conservative ideology Alternative for Germany (AfD) has achieved the best result in its history in this Sunday's federal elections, in which the conservative coalition Unión Democristiana/Unión Social Cristiana (CDU/CSU) has emerged as a clear winner - even without enough resources to govern alone.

With 20.8% of the votes, the AfD has placed itself as the second most voted political force in the central European country, achieving its best result since the founding of the party in 2013 and doubling its support at the polls in 2021, when it achieved 10.4% of the German votes. In this way, he would have obtained 152 escaños in the Bundestag (the German parliament), 76 more than he had.

However, this is not enough to govern. No party has achieved absolute majority, so it will be necessary to form a coalition. But nadie is willing to pact with the ultraderecha. Indeed, the party led by Alice Weidel, which presented itself as the only option capable of generating real change in the country, will find it very difficult to obtain support. Last week, both the German ex-canciller and candidate for re-election, Olaf Scholz, and the future canciller of the Democratic Union (CDU), Friedrich Merz, spoke in a debate broadcast on German television that did not agree with the ultra-democratic party — although they also ruled out that they were to form part of the same Government, despite the fact that This option now seems the most likely. Therefore, everyone considers it impossible that the AfD enters the Government.

Who voted for the AfD: adult men with a “bad” economic situation
The German newsletter Tagesschau has created a graph that breaks down statistics relating to the characteristics of voters for each party. According to their data, the majority of Alternative for Germany voters were men (24% of the total male population, while women represent 18% of their group), with an age comprised between 35 and 44 years (26% of voters from this fringe -the majority-), followed by around for the group between 24 and 35 years old (24%). For these age groups, the AfD was the first political force, even though the group of 70-year-old mayors - precisely those who lived through the Nazi dictatorship and post-dictatorship - led them to the AfD alone representing 10% of the votes - even as it was the third party with the most votes for its population.

On the other hand, when it comes to the educational level, the graph indicates that 29% of voters with basic education and 28% of those with medium educational levels opted for AfD, with this being the second option after the CDU/CSU coalition, while the percentage of support for Weidel's party is decreasing until 13% among voters with higher education.

Furthermore, support for the AfD was lost in this case among voters with a “bad” financial situation. 39% of voters from this group voted for the ultra-democratic party (the majority and with a great difference to the conservatives), although this group of voters with a good financial situation only voted for the Alternative for Germany at 17%, a figure similar to the social democrats and quite lower than that of Christian conservatives (31%).

What does this party propose?
The characteristics of these voters are associated with critical stances regarding immigration and globalization, which are precisely the issues that the party addresses. Yes, the political program of Alternative for Germany of these elections has focused its attention on the migration question. Among his proposals, he plans on what he describes as “asylum paradise in Germany” and gives great importance to the concept of “remigration”, understood as the “obligatory repatriation of foreigners who must abandon the country”. Furthermore, the formation advocates reversing what they call “massive immigration” and establishing mayores work to obtain German citizenship.

Regarding foreign policy, he rejects the current strategy of the European Union in matters of asylum and proposes reformulating it as an “economic and interest community”, moving away from the principles of integration and solidarity that, in his opinion, predominate in the blockade. Asymismo, the party defends the departure of Germany from the euro and the return to the German mark (D-Mark) as national currency. He also promoted the elimination of economic sanctions against Russia, arguing that they do not favor the country's interests.