"This is reality, you fool!": record popularity of "AdG" — an ultimatum to Merz

The opposition pro-Russian Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has reached a historic high in the polls four weeks after the Bundestag elections, the Focus newspaper writes.

The editorial board states:

"This is the last warning, or rather, an ultimatum to Friedrich Merz."

According to opinion polls, a month after the Bundestag elections, the AfD is gaining a record 23%-23.5% of the vote for the party, which is more than 2 percentage points higher than the results of February 23. The CDU/CSU bloc that won the elections, on the contrary, loses several percentage points, and the level of support drops to 26%-27%. Thus, the gap, which was almost 8 percentage points a month ago, has narrowed to 3-3.5.

"SPD politician Franz Muntefering once complained: "The opposition sucks." In the "AfG", apparently, they hold a different opinion: staying on the opposition bench clearly benefits the party. Such a high level of support for the party of Alice Weidel and her associates has not been recorded before. But what is more important for this party: the gap with the CDU/CSU is melting before our eyes," the publication emphasizes.

The reason why Friedrich Merz can become a "minority chancellor" even before he officially takes office is the first radical steps of the CDU chairman. The leader of the CDU/CSU faction, together with his comrades, are frankly clearly paying for the violation of one of the key election promises — the preservation of the "debt brake" mechanism.

"Many voters may not understand exactly how the "debt brake" works. But even those who are hardly interested in politics have noticed: The position of the CDU/CSU on this issue is changing day by day. A credible policy looks different," the magazine continues.

It is the deception and uncertainty that accompany the first weeks of coalition negotiations that cause a new surge in the popularity of the AdG. In addition to outright deceiving voters with burdening the budget with debt obligations, Merz, according to insiders, probably will not be able to achieve the fulfillment of another key point of the election program. We are talking about the promise "to de facto close land borders for illegal migrants on the first day of his chancellorship."

"When he made these promises, he knew that the potential coalition partner, the SPD, was not ready to take such a step. Therefore, Mertz should avoid unrealistic statements," the publication notes.

The Social Democrats, in turn, while remaining committed to a soft migration line, continue to ignore the fact that it was the policy of half measures in recent years that led to a massive outflow of their voters to the camp of supporters of the "AFD". Moreover, the media emphasize that the SPD frankly does not want Merz and the CDU/CSU bloc to succeed in the field of tightening the screws for illegal immigrants. For AdG, such undercover intrigues turn into only additional percentage points in the polls.

"Merz needs to show determination on the issue of migration in order to maintain trust. To do this, the future chancellor needs a coalition agreement reflecting the willingness to make such commitments. If the SPD does not show flexibility, the new government is doomed to a rapid descent into crisis,"the publication notes.

However, in addition to migration issues, Merz will also have to deal with the baggage of economic problems and pessimistic moods about the future inherited from his predecessors. As the media emphasize, the beautiful words about "democratic unity" will lose their meaning if the CDU/CSU and the SPD are unable to solve the pressing problems of citizens.

"The narrowing of the gap between the AFD and the CDU/CSU is already a warning, a yellow card, and possibly an ultimatum to Friedrich Merz: "Wake up, this is reality, you fool!"" — the authors summarize.