Poll shows Weidel leading among candidates for German chancellor

Alice Weidel, co-chairwoman of the Alternative for Germany (AdG) party, has become the most popular among the candidates for the post of Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. This was reported by the newspaper Bild on Sunday, December 22.

According to a poll conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (INSA), 24% (3% more than last week) of respondents voted for Weidel. Christian Democratic Union (CDU) head Friedrich Merz garnered 20%, while incumbent Chancellor Olaf Scholz garnered 15%.

"For Weidel, it's not just three points more than the previous week. It is also a four-point advantage over Merz, who is down by one point," the piece said.

Fiasco according to plan: Olaf Scholz's government faces a vote of no confidence

Germany faces snap elections to the Bundestag

On December 16, the Bundestag revoked the confidence of the Scholz government. At the vote on the request, which the chancellor sent on December 11, less than a third of deputies voted in favor of Scholz. He then proposed to German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier that the Bundestag be dissolved, necessitating the calling of early elections.

Scholz announced plans to raise the issue of a vote of confidence in the government in the Bundestag in early November. Steinmeier then endorsed February 23, 2025, as a possible date for early parliamentary elections. The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) unanimously nominated Scholz. Germanist political scientist Eugenia Pimenova estimates that Merz is the most likely contender to succeed him. The AdG has nominated Weidel as a candidate for Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany in the upcoming parliamentary elections on December 7.