According to the latest Forsa poll on voter favorability, the AfD has recently overtaken the Union. In RTL‑ and ntv’s weekly survey, the Union sits at 26 % while the AfD follows closely at 25 %. The SPD stays steady at 14 %, but both the Greens (now 12 %) and the Left (10 %) each lose one percentage point. The BSW and FDP remain unchanged at 3 % each, whereas the share of other parties rose by one point to 7 %.
The proportion of non‑voters and undecided respondents is still high at 26 %, noticeably above the 17.9 % non‑voter rate observed in the last federal election.
When it comes to perceived political competence, the AfD is again narrowing the gap with the Union. Only 18 % of Union voters believe their party can best address Germany’s problems, while the AfD’s confidence jumps to 12 %-placing it in second place. The SPD’s rating stays at 6 %, and the Greens and Left lose a point each, standing at 5 % and 4 % respectively. Overall, 54 % of respondents do not trust any party to solve Germany’s problems.
The prospect of a trend reversal for Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) remains unlikely. After a brief uptick in January, satisfaction with Merz dropped back to 23 %. Seventy‑five percent of respondents are dissatisfied with his performance, a 19‑point decline from the June 2025 figure of 42 %. This level of satisfaction matches that of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, as of July 2024.
The survey was conducted from 10 to 16 February 2026, with a sample of 2,504 participants.
