Germany's new leftist party gains support, far-right loses in polling

The newest party in the German political landscape, the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), is gaining support, with a 6% approval rating nationwide, according to the latest opinion poll on Friday.

That is an increase of 2% for the party that was established by Sarah Wagenknecht, a former leader of Die Linke (The Left), who split from her party to form the BSW.

The BSW combines left–wing social policy with an anti-immigrant stance and criticism of the European Union.

The results mean that if Germany held elections on Sunday, the party that was founded in January would beat the 5% hurdle needed to enter parliament, according to the poll, conducted for German public broadcaster ZDF.

The centre-right opposition bloc of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the regional Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) came in at 31%, meaning it would remain the strongest force.

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) had the second-highest level of support with 19%, losing 3 points compared to the channel's previous survey carried out in mid-January.

The anti-immigrant AfD had been steadily rising in polls for months, propelled at least in part by right-wing anger at Chancellor Olaf Scholz's stumbling three-party coalition government.

Scholz's governing Social Democrats (SPD) had a support level of 15%, an increase of 25. The Green Party, the SPD's main coalition partner, had a 13% approval rating, losing 1%.

Support for the junior coalition partner, the pro-business FDP, remained unchanged at 4%, meaning it would fail to pass the 5% hurdle for the Bundestag.

The survey shows the SPD, Greens and FDP would not have a parliamentary majority.

The results further show that the Left Party has a 3% level of approval, meaning it also would not be able to enter the Bundestag.

The results are based on a representative survey by the research group Wahlen which was published on Friday. The survey was conducted from January 30 to February 1, polling 1,217 randomly selected voters by telephone and online.

Election surveys are generally not very reliable as declining party loyalty and increasingly short-term voting decisions make it hard for pollsters to assess the data they gather.

Generally, these kind of polls reflect people's opinions at the time of the survey and do not predict election outcomes.

The next German federal election is not due until 2025, however three states will go to the polls this year.