Mannheim (dts) - Matthias Jung, board member of the polling institute Research Group Elections, does not believe it is realistic that the espionage and corruption allegations will reduce the AfD's electoral chances. “You have to be careful not to believe that there are negative headlines and now approval for the AfD is collapsing - that is illusionary,” he told the “Rheinische Post” on Friday.
“With parties that are so strongly influenced by populist ideology and right-wing extremists, scandals are a thing. Your electorate is very heterogeneous, but you can say that there is a part that is immune to negative information - even when it comes to bribery or espionage like the AfD is doing now,” Jung continued.
Demoskop explains this immunity with the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance from psychology. “People change their attitudes and memories so that they no longer have to endure contradictions,” explained Jung. “There are those who actually believe that it is a campaign fueled by the established parties, which is now being deliberately staged before the European elections. Then there are those who vote for the AfD out of pure defiance one way or another. And then there are the voters with a closed right-wing extremist worldview who are not bothered by any of this and who find proximity to authoritarian systems completely unproblematic.”
If there were a federal election next Sunday, the AfD would currently have 17 percent, according to the new “political barometer” published on Friday on behalf of ZDF. In the European elections, the AfD would currently get 15 percent.
