Overview
- A representative Infratest dimap poll released Monday shows 87 percent of Germans say democracy is the right form of government while 63 percent are dissatisfied with how it currently functions.
- About one third of respondents named right‑wing extremism as the biggest danger to democracy and 16 percent singled out perceived political or administrative dysfunction.
- Large majorities support new participation tools, with roughly 70 percent backing nationwide referendums, 64 percent favoring citizen participatory budgets, and 63 percent approving randomly selected citizens' councils.
- Only about half of respondents trust politicians to provide social security and six in ten people under 30 doubt political promises on social safety nets, helping explain recent youth protests.
- The ARD engagement campaign drew more than 80,000 participants and WDR plans public discussion of the findings on Arena while respondents also placed practical priorities on bus and rail improvements, a detail that could shape party platforms and policy proposals.