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AfD leader Alice Weidel (right) with Martin Böhm and Katrin Ebner-Steiner, top candidates for the state election in Bavaria

Photo: Michele Tantussi / AFP

So far, one sentence has applied in German politics: there will be no coalition with the AfD – all other parties relevant nationwide reject an alliance with the party. However, the population is divided on this question, as a survey by the opinion research institute Civey for SPIEGEL shows.

According to the survey, 47 percent of Germans would find it acceptable if the AfD were involved in governments at the state level. However, the proportion of those who reject such participation is just as large.

(You can read more about the Civey methodology here.)

It is interesting to note that the acceptance of a state government with AfD participation would be greater in the east than in the west. 55 percent in East Germany considered such a constellation to be acceptable, in the West 44 percent.

In fact, the question could arise in the coming year. Then there will be state elections in Saxony, Brandenburg and Thuringia. In recent polls, the AfD is clearly the strongest force in all states. This constellation could mean that it may not be possible to govern at all without the AfD – or that political opponents such as the CDU and the Left Party would have to join forces to prevent this.

At the AfD party congress in the summer, party leader Tino Chrupalla had reaffirmed his claim to get out of the opposition. The AfD must prepare to take on government responsibility and is "ready for more".

The self-confidence is also fed by recent electoral successes. In the state elections in Bavaria and Hesse last Sunday, the AfD achieved record results. In Bavaria, with 14.8 percent, it is on a par with the Greens and Free Voters, and in Hesse, with 18.4 percent, it even became the second strongest force behind the CDU.

How to deal with the AfD – also at the municipal level – is a recurring topic of contention among the other parties. In recent months, there have been accusations against the CDU in particular that its self-formulated "firewall" against the far right is crumbling.

ulz