AfD voting percentages (state election in 2017)

Alternative für Deutschland Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) is a right-wing nationalist party that has rapidly gained support in Germany. Since its start in 2013, the AfD has become the third-largest seat holding party in the Bundestag, or the German Parliamentary body. As you can see in the chart, there are several Eastern German states that have particularly high voting percentages for this party.

CDU voting percentages (state election in 2017)

Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands The Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU) is currently the most powerful German political party. Under the leadership of the party’s most prominent figure, Chancellor Angela Merkel, the CDU promotes a moderate but slightly conservative agenda, centered on free market policy and Christian ideology.

Information about the data

2017 German state election data This dataset was pulled from GESIS, which is a German social sciences research institute. For each state represented in the dataset, there are 52 parties for which constituents can vote. I’ve focused on what is currently the most popular party (the Christian Democratic Union) and a party whose recent success is indicative of rising nationalism in Germany (the Alternative für Deutschland).

Map visualization

The circles in red represent the voting percentages for the AfD. The blue circles represent voting percentages for the CDU. It is unsettling to note that, for each state, these circles grow closer to being congruent as the AfD continues to gain political power in Germany.