A new study indicates that government subsidies could be strategically deployed to reduce the voting power of the AfD party. According to an analysis conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation, alongside universities in Düsseldorf, Princeton, and California, a modest increase in infrastructure funding-specifically 100 Euros per inhabitant-can reportedly lead to a reduction of approximately 1.0 percentage point in the AfD’s support in certain regions.
However, the research notes that this effect appears most pronounced in areas with a large number of jobs connected to CO2-intensive industries, such as steel or chemistry, or regions that manufacture such products, like combustion engines.
Jens Südekum, a Düsseldorf economist and co-author of the study, commented that any intervention must create the public impression that something new is developing locally, particularly when an existing industry is declining. He argues that regional economic development initiatives should not be confined solely to structurally weak areas. They should also target regions that are currently stable but are afflicted by widespread anxiety about future decline.
Südekum asserts that promoting regional economies is “the most effective way to counter the AfD”.
