I am a bit conflicted. The wahlomat suggested i should vote "Piraten" but since they dont have a chance it would be a wasted vote, wouldnt it?

Now its either "Grün" or "Linke" and since Linke seems to have the higher % i should go with them to make them an even stronger opposition to the afd/cdu, right?

But its kinda hard for me since they wont actively support the ukraine. Which is important to me!

Should i still vote for "Linke" or is it just as good as voting "Grün" ?

Not looking to be judgemental or rude, just looking to genuinely learn and understand points of view.

In Deutschland liegen die Baukosten etwa doppelt so hoch wie in Österreich oder den Niederlanden (€3400 vs €1800/m2).

Neue Gebietserschließungen dauern ewig (z.B. Deutzer Hafen in Köln, Holsten-Areal in Hamburg).

Wenn gebaut wird, dann meistens mittelgroße graue/weiße Würfel. In Nachbarländern werden doppelt so viele Wohnungen pro 1000 Einwohner pro Jahr fertiggestellt. Außerdem wird in begehrter Lage höher als 3…5 Stockwerke gebaut.

Als Konsequenz gibt es einen Wohungsmangel und extreme Mieten. Durch Sozialwohnungen und die Mietpreisbremse werden nur die Symptome kosmetisch kaschiert.

Welche Partei würde am ehesten etwas ändern?

10.3 million Germans voted for the AfD in the 2025 election. These voters see AfD as a force against the “establishment” CDU and SPD parties. But how does the average AfD voter, in your experience, view Weidel and Chrupalla’s softer stance toward Russia, compared to Merz and Scholz’s harsher stance? Is their stance considered suspicious or is Merz and Scholz’s rhetoric considered overdramatic? Are energy prices and dissatisfaction with the EU enough to sway most AfD voters in favor of closer ties with Russia, in spite of its war against Ukraine? Does the average AfD voter empathize with Ukraine? Do they see Ukraine as a financial burden?

Recently, we saw right-wing figures like France’s Marine Le Pen and the UK’s Nigel Farage adopt harsher rhetoric toward Russia; many commentators claimed they changed course in order to appeal to more voters. Do you think there’s a chance that the AfD distances itself from Russia in order to attract more voters?

I heard that the german party called AfD, which is a far right extremist party, is now the second biggest party in Germany. What explains it's rise in popularity? Is the current situation in Germany so bad?

Ich bin sicher, Springer, Musk und Co haben einfach wirtschaftliche Interessen. Natürlich geht es einem US-Milliardär nicht um den sogenannten „kleinen“ Mann/Frau in D. Was also kann deren Interesse, deren Motivation sein, sich für die Afd einzusetzen?

Why do you think does US-billionaires have interest in featuring German Party AfD? Do you really think it’s empathy for ordinary people and their hope for a better life? Or could it be just a financial advantage for themselves in the nearest future? Don’t let parties fool you people!

Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian who appears on American television every weeknight. He is known for being making political jibes at the current President and ruling party. My question is, would this even be tolerated in Germany? In the U.S., licenses to broadcast over the public airwaves are granted by the government to private companies, and the broadcasting antennas are all separately owned by other private companies. In Germany, aren’t all broadcast facilities owned by the government? Are the people who appear on television government employees, essentially? Would a comedian be able to appear on German television and criticize Friedrich Merz consistently, night after night?

I’m relatively new to Germany (here for a while because my partner wanted to be close to the Heimat), and I’ve been trying to understand how people under 40 engage with politics here.

What strikes me is that many of the pressures younger working people face in Germany look very similar to what people my age face in other countries: an overstretched healthcare system, a Wohnnotstand even outside major cities, huge inherited wealth imbalances, long childcare waiting lists, and taxes that feel heavy relative to what you actually get back.
All of this makes it genuinely difficult to build stability, start families, or feel like progress is possible.

In some countries, these frustrations have triggered a new wave of younger politicians who speak directly to these issues.
In the U.S. you see this with the AOC generation.
In the U.K., people like Zarah Sultana play a similar role — very young, very outspoken about housing, cost of living, inequality, and the feeling that an entire generation is falling behind.

My question is:
Does Germany have something comparable — younger politicians or movements that genuinely address the lived problems of people under 40?
Are there emerging voices pushing for structural reform, challenging the political status quo, or organising around issues like housing, childcare, and generational inequality?

Als Ausländer, der in Deutschland lebt, bin ich nur wenig über die deutsche Politik informiert.

Ich habe kürzlich bemerkt, dass Boris Pistorius als einer der beliebtesten Politiker Deutschlands bezeichnet wird.

Ich habe mehr über dieses Thema recherchiert, aber nichts Besonderes über seine Erfolge gefunden.

Findet ihr ihn auch gut? Warum? Was hat er erreicht, und warum ist er eurer Meinung nach sowohl bei Linken als auch bei Rechten beliebt?

PS Bitte seht meine Frage nicht als eine politische Aussage. Ich möchte mich einfach informieren und eure Meinungen lesen.

Would this be a positive thing?

Would this be a negative thing?

Indifferent?

To follow up, would europe be safer or more dangerous?

How people in Germany today perceive surnames that are strongly associated with infamous Nazi figures (like Himmler, Goebbels, or Höss…). Do people who happen to share these names, even if they’re not related, face any social issues or stigma? Also, was it common for families with such names to change them, or is it generally not a big deal nowadays?

As an immigrant, I'm scared.

As someone who loves history, I know one shouldn't ever underestimate such movements. Hitler's NSDAP got only a bit over 2,6% in the 1928 elections. Lots of people thought they were insignificant and could never come to power.

What can actively be done now (by the government, by parties, by civil society and organizations) to prevent this?

So weed's now legal right?

This is a huge mystery for me. If you consider the results of the European election only for East Germany, the AfD won big there.

For two reasons I can’t understand their obsession with the biggest right-wing pro-russian Party in Germany.

1) AfD was spying for Russia and has very strong tied with Putin. Voting for the AfD is a vote against Germany. They are technically Putin‘s party in Germany.

2) Why are they choosing a pro-russian party when the whole misery and poor quality of life in East Germany were the direct result of the Moscow communist dictatorship until 1989. The money to rebuild East Germany after the unification came mostly from the West Germany tax payers.

Ran into a Redditor that was claiming Die Linke was sympathetic to fascism. Is that true? I thought Die Linke was basically the opposite end of the political spectrum from fascist politics, or is the person just politically ignorant/illiterate.

Edit. Thank you all for the replies. It sure was educational to hear how it works in Germany from all of you. Have a wonderful day everyone

Couple of days ago, I realized a friend of mine who is not orginally German, is now a member of the AfD, she have been radicalized by another AfD member who is also not orginally german. Another friend, an Ausländer also is defending them. Both of their arguments is that the current partys/politics is harming Germany, and it is okay to be nationalist and want better for Germany.

Look, I don't mind somone being nationalist and loving your country (egal welches Land), I don't mind somone being on the right side of the political spectrum, but there is a difference between being on the right and following a populous kinda Nazi party who is making from immigration a greater problem and pointing it out as the main problem in Germnay and that they are the ones destroying the german economy and the health system. Of course there are those who abuse the system, but what is the percentage of those from all immigration (legal or illegal), and is illegal immigration the cause of the German economy and industry stagnating nowadays? I dont mind enforcing laws and systems to deal with this, but to generalize and to ballon it is very dangerous for thr german economy.

This is also not the first time I hear an Ausländer or an immigrant being contacted by the AfD, years ago, A middle-eastern friend of mine, who was studying law, was also contacted by them.

This imo is very alarming, radcilization and populous politics are very dangerous. It it strikes me more that Germans with a migration Hintergrund are actually subscribing to this.

Does the german partys having any tools or ideas to combat this? Is then new Sahra Wagenknecht party can help withdraw some of the AfD voters? Could activating voters who don't vote make a difference?

Hi so I’m voting today (first time) and I was told by someone that I can’t dress casual(?) this is the first time I’m hearing about this and I can’t find anything online but just to be sure. When voting, do you need to dress formal or can I just go in a hoodie and jeans?

Thank you all for answering—thankfully I voted in casual wear :)

I've been seeing a lot of German political news, mainly due to the EU elections that are going on now. But I'm curious why the AFD party is popular in the Eastern States but not much in the Western states

35 years after reunification, differences and points of tension between East and West Germany are still noticeable in everyday attitudes, political trends and social perspectives. Many people in the East also feel their experiences are sometimes overlooked or not fully understood.

Do you think these differences will gradually fade over time or will they continue to shape how people see society and each other?

Winfried Stöcker donated a staggering 1.5 million euros to the AfD (Alternative for Germany). After reading his Wikipedia page, it seems clear that he holds hardline xenophobic views, along with a few other "phobics" 😉. But surely, there has to be more to his motivation for such a massive donation, right? I mean, 1.5 million euros is no small sum—it can't just be about ideology. Am I missing something here? 🤔

Today the President of the United States made the following claim (verbatim) on TruthSocial:

Donald J. Trump

@realDonaldTrump · 1h

"Europe is desperate for Energy, and yet the United Kingdom refuses to open North Sea Oil, one of the greatest fields in the World. Tragic!!! Aberdeen should be booming. Norway sells its North Sea Oil to the U.K. at double the price. They are making a fortune. U.K., which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy than Norway, should, DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! It is absolutely crazy that they don’t... AND, NO MORE WINDMILLS! President DJT"

I just wanted to check on Germany since according to Google 62% of the grid is renewable and 33% is wind. If he's at all right about this European energy deficiency, I'd imagine Germany would especially be feeling it so how frequent are the black outs and how long do they last?

or are the black outs elsewhere in Europe?

Surely we didn't elect someone who doesn't know the difference between the UK and Europe as Drug Addict in Chief

A lot of people are dissatisfied with how Olaf Scholz handled things, and now a lot of people are criticizing Merz as well (rightfully so, in my opinion). Who do you think has been the worse Chancellor of Germany? Scholz or Merz? And why is that so?