According to the newspaper, AfD leader Alice Weidel enjoys the support of 24% of survey participants.
A new INSA poll for Bild places Alice Weidel, co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), ahead of other candidates in the upcoming chancellor race.
The tabloid’s Sunday publication revealed Weidel holds a 24% approval rating, surpassing CDU leader Friedrich Merz at 20%.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) garnered 15% support, while Green Party leader Robert Habeck received 14%.
The AfD nominated 45-year-old Weidel as their chancellor candidate on December 7th, ahead of the February 23rd snap election. Her nomination is set for confirmation at a party conference next month.
In a recent Bloomberg interview, Weidel criticized the EU for harming Germany’s auto industry and suggested reverting the bloc to a free trade area.
The AfD’s draft election manifesto, released earlier this month, advocates for Germany’s withdrawal from the EU and the eurozone, proposing a referendum on the matter.
AfD membership has increased by 50% in the past year, reaching approximately 50,600 members, according to a party spokesperson’s statement to Reuters this month. This still constitutes only about 14% of the combined membership of Germany’s largest parties, the CDU/CSU and the SPD.
Right-wing, anti-immigration parties have gained influence across the EU in recent years, achieving power in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, and Slovakia.