Break-up of the traffic light coalition without consequences for political opinions

Overall, the study shows only minor changes in the climate of opinion between June and November 2024. After a significant decline between December 2022 and June 2023, satisfaction with democracy rose again slightly in June 2024 and fell again in November 2024. Green voters are consistently more satisfied with democracy than other voter groups. Approval of populism has risen slightly in western and eastern Germany, depending on the statement.

However, the self-assessment on the left-right scale is surprisingly constant. In addition, confidence in the future, a sense of security and belief in secret powers have remained stable among the population as a whole. However, Germans are less confident about the future than they were during the coronavirus pandemic. Confidence in the future is increasing among AfD voters. Qualitative studies by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation suggest that this is due to the prospect that the AfD could be included in a government due to its strength.

This study suggests, at least for the attitudes analysed here, that the premature end of the so-called traffic light coalition had no particular influence on the political attitudes of the population. The climate of opinion remains surprisingly stable with slight fluctuations. Even in qualitative focus groups conducted in November 2024, the break-up of the government and the early election only played a minor role in the participants' discussions.

Read the entire study “Break-up of the traffic light coalition without consequences for political opinions – Results from representative trend surveys on political attitudes” here as a PDF. Please note, to date the study is only available in German.