AfD’s Record Surge Leaves Germany’s Ruling Coalition Reeling

Germany’s political balance is shifting in a way the establishment can no longer dismiss. As the governing coalition loses public backing and economic pressure keeps mounting, the real story is not just voter frustration, but the scale of the opening now being created for the AfD. Michael Heaver looks at Germany’s worsening economic picture, from rising unemployment to major job cuts, and at Friedrich Merz’s complaints about the EU’s green agenda despite remaining tied to the very system driving it. He then turns to the latest polling, which shows support for the conservative-social democrat coalition collapsing, with just 15% backing the government. At the same time, the AfD has climbed to a record 28%, moving four points ahead of the Conservatives and deepening the sense that Germany’s political centre is losing control. Is this just another protest surge, or the start of a much bigger realignment in German politics?