Germany's Biggest Challenges? It Depends Who You Ask

As Germans are about to head to the polls on Sunday to vote for a new federal government after the collapse of the unpopular “Ampel” (i.e. traffic light) coalition, the country seems deeply divided. And that’s not only in terms of who should lead Germany out of recession and into the future, but also in terms of which issues are most pressing in the EU’s largest member state.

According to Statista Consumer Insights, those identifying themselves with the political left consider inflation, climate change and housing the most important challenges facing their country. The people who consider themselves in the center of the political spectrum see immigration and the economic situation as the next most important issues aside from inflation/cost of living. Respondents on the political right see immigration as the most important issue, followed at some distance by inflation and crime.

Interestingly climate change doesn’t make the top 5 for centrist or right-leaning respondents, while those on the left do not consider immigration or crime to be very pressing issues. Looking at the political debate ahead of Sunday’s snap election, it is clear that the right, be it the Christian conservative CDU/CSU or the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), has successfully set the agenda for this election, as immigration has clearly been the number 1 topic in the country in recent weeks.

Over the past few years, frustration with the country’s welcoming stance towards refugees has grown, especially as the country’s economy has struggled to live up to its reputation as Europe’s flagship economy and many people’s personal financial situation has worsened in the face of rising food and energy prices. And while one isn’t connected to the other, it’s a common reflex to blame immigration and immigrants in the face of financial hardship. This has led to a rise of the far-right AfD, which is forecast to reach around 20 percent of the vote in Sunday’s election.

As of 2023, almost 30 percent of Germany’s 83.9 million inhabitants were first or second-generation migrants, of which roughly half (12.4 million) were German citizens. In 2024, the country hosted 2.7 million refugees and 350,000 asylum seekers, according to UNHCR figures.