Germans show increasing interest in EU elections: survey

Berlin [Germany], June 1: Germans expressing interests in European politics surged to 61 percent from 38 percent 10 years ago, according to the Politbarometer Extra survey published by public broadcaster ZDF Thursday.
Germans overwhelmingly hold a positive view of Germany's EU membership, with a substantial majority of 59 percent believing that it primarily benefits the country's population and a mere 10 percent perceiving it as mainly associating with disadvantages, showed the survey conducted in the lead-up to the EU elections on June 6-9.
However, Germans view the EU elections as less significant than the national ones, as 24 percent of respondents say decisions made in the European Parliament are "very important" while nearly half see it that way for Germany's parliament Bundestag.
Moreover, as the EU elections draw near, voter dissatisfaction with the current government coalition is evident in recent polls. Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democratic Party has trailed behind many of its competitors with only 14 percent of votes.
The Green Party is facing significant losses compared to its impressive performance in the 2019 elections, where it achieved a record result of 20.5 percent. It is expected to obtain 15 percent of the vote this time, according to the Politbarometer survey.
The conservative Union parties, comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU), would secure a vote share of 30 percent and the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) would garner 14 percent.
Meanwhile, there is an increasing recognition of Brussels' importance. A Europe-wide survey showed that 60 percent of Europeans plan to take part in the upcoming elections, a notable rise of 10 percentage points from the bloc's last elections, according to a survey conducted by the German Bertelsmann Stiftung from early May.
Source: Xinhua