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Mitte-Study: Fewer Explicit Right-Wing Extremists as Confidence in German Democracy Falls

Researchers warn against an all-clear, pointing to entrenched prejudices alongside a growing gray zone.

Overview

  • The biennial survey finds 3.3% of respondents hold a clearly right‑extremist worldview, down from 8% in 2022/23, with approval of political violence falling to 5.9% from 9.8%.
  • Only about half say the political system works well on the whole, 24% disagree, and 18.2% doubt the credibility of elections, a tripling since 2021.
  • Prejudiced attitudes remain widespread, including roughly one third who see refugees as welfare abusers and about one sixth expressing antisemitic understanding tied to current Israeli policy.
  • Around one fifth of respondents fall into an ambiguous gray area not clearly classifiable as extremist, and many endorse nationalist or authoritarian statements such as support for a strong leader.
  • Right‑extremist or hostile views are more common among young adults (7% among ages 18–34), lower education or income groups, Eastern regions, and potential AfD voters, according to the representative survey of just over 2,000 people.