BERLIN

German voters are increasingly worried about their economic outlook and the growing influence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as they prepare to head to the polls Sunday in a closely-watched parliamentary election.

“My biggest concern is the right-wing tendencies that are currently on the rise in Germany,” said Nicole, a 29-year-old musician in Berlin. “It's influenced by a lot of factors – the economy is one of them obviously, migration is one of them,” she told Anadolu, adding that polarization in society is causing great worries.

The anti-immigrant AfD has seen its vote share surge to 21% before the election, cementing its position as the second-largest party behind the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU). It marks a dramatic increase from the party's 10% share in the 2021 election.

The AfD's rise has spurred previously disengaged voters to plan to head to the polls Sunday. The socialist Die Linke party has seen its support grow from 3% in December to 8%, largely due to its strong opposition to the AfD.

“I'm concerned about the AfD and the economy. I don't see the brightest future right now for the economy if we don't do a few things,” said Damian, a 28-year-old sales professional. He also expressed concern over the Trump administration's interference in German elections but added that “the people will vote nevertheless for what they want.”

The election campaign has been marked by escalating tensions between the US and Europe, particularly following controversial moves by American leadership. US Vice President JD Vance's speech at the Munich Security Conference where he voiced support for right-wing populist movements, and his subsequent meeting with AfD co-chair Alice Weidel also raised concerns.

Gutrund, a 74-year-old pensioner, expressed concern about external influences on German politics. “Trump is the most dangerous person for me at the moment. He is not predictable and these decisions that Trump and his aides are making worldwide -- that's dangerous,” she said, adding that Germans must step up to defend their democracy.

She noted that frustrated Germans, particularly in the former East German states, were increasingly turning to the AfD, which she said was not offering real solutions to current problems and challenges.

The “AfD catches exactly the fears of the people. The world is changing, nobody can stop it, the AfD can’t change it either,” she said. “Especially people in Eastern Germany lived for long under dictatorship, they have not experienced developing the internal resources to solve problems on their own.”

”Now, they're searching for someone who promises to remove all their problems with simple solutions, believing this will change everything. We’ll see what happens,” she said.

Andrea, a 66-year-old medical worker in Berlin, acknowledged widespread concerns about economic hardships and the growing social divide caused by the far-right AfD party's rise.

“I don’t think that the AfD will somehow get the power, but it looks very strong, I have to say that,” she said, as she criticized the Trump administration’s attitude toward Europe, and comments from his aides about Germany.

“In my opinion, well Trump, he's an idiot, so I don't know how I could have voted for him, but a lot of people did,” she said.

Sven, a 64-year-old, expressed frustration with the Trump administration and the US president’s top lieutenant, tech billionaire Elon Musk, for their approach toward Germany and their controversial policies.

“Musk and Trump, they should take one of Musk's rockets and shoot themselves to Mars and never come back -- that’s what I think about them both,” he said/ “America used to be the big fighter for freedom, they helped Germans to get rid of the Nazis and now they turn themselves into a Nazi country.”

Musk, the owner of X, has repeatedly supported the far-right AfD, despite broad criticism from center-left and center-right German political parties.

Last week, Musk posted on X that “AfD is the only hope for Germany.”

Since he bought X (formerly Twitter) in 2022, the platform, critics say, has become a haven for far-right views and that Musk spreads the type of disinformation the platform once banned.