The pro-Russian opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has become the leader among political forces in terms of the number of new members who have joined the party since the beginning of this year, the Tagesspiegel newspaper reported today, October 19. .
In nine months of this year, 9,256 people joined the AfD, so in September the total number of representatives of the pro-Russian political force was almost 49,000 participants.
Among the parties that make up the ruling coalition, the only party that has probably managed to strengthen its ranks is the Greens. The federal leadership of the political force refused to reveal consolidated data, but the dynamics registered in the states with the largest regional affiliates indicate an increase in the number of members after a drop in 2023. In particular, more than 2,000 people joined the “Greens” in Baden-Württemberg: an increase from 16.4 to 18.5 thousand. The Lower Saxony regional office also increased its staff by 8%.
On the contrary, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) of Chancellor Olaf Scholz registers a new departure of its party colleagues. The number of people in its largest regional office in North Rhine-Westphalia decreased by 0.6% or 500 people. In Lower Saxony, the Social Democrats also lost 2.4% of their members in the first nine months of this year, and in Baden-Württemberg, 0.6%.
“The SPD in Hesse faced even greater blood loss: on September 30, 2024, the branch had 40,056 members, up from 41,889 members at the end of 2023.” – noted in the post.
The Free Democratic Party of Germany (FDP), the Social Democrats’ junior partner in the ruling coalition, is also losing members: in the third year of Scholz’s government, between 4% and 6% of its members left the party. “liberal” camp, as evident from the data on the largest regional branches of the party.
According to the latest results of a sociological survey by the Insa Institute, the pro-Russian AfD party continues to occupy second position in the list of the most popular parties in Germany. If the Bundestag elections were held next Sunday, Alternativa could gain the support of almost one in five voters (19%). The CDU/CSU opposition bloc remains the leader with 31% of the potential votes. The SPD is willing to support 16% of voters, the Greens 10% and the FDP 4%. The Sarah Wagenknecht Union for Reason and Justice, founded earlier this year, can get 9% of the vote in the first Bundestag elections.
