Petra Dvořáková: Choosing the AfD as a final step towards integration. Why are migrants voting for the far right?

Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

Migrant voters share concerns over economy and social cohesion, showing surprising support for AfD despite its extremism.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

Migrant voters share concerns with ethnic Germans regarding Germany’s main socio-political issues: economy and inflation, social cohesion, and migration. A young man from Kenya who adopted German citizenship expresses disillusionment with politicians, citing economic insecurity as a major worry. Research shows that migrant voters’ behavior is not significantly different from ethnic Germans; while most view the AfD as unviable, about one in five considers voting for it, mirroring ethnic Germans. Differences emerge when segmenting by origin: those from the former Soviet Union show higher support for the AfD, and some from the Middle East find the Islamophobic party electable. Migrant voters are more concerned with economic issues than climate change and express general distrust in established parties. Historically, migrant loyalty was tied to SPD (Turkish community) or CDU (former Soviet bloc migrants). The AfD has successfully targeted specific groups, such as Russian Germans, by framing narratives around shared history and perceived discrimination, while also using social media to appeal to Turkish communities by emphasizing a historical connection between Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Some analysts suggest that voting against immigration can serve as a final step in integration for some migrants, allowing them to distance themselves from their migrant identity.


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