Democracy is currently a recurring topic. Survey results for former popular parties are at their lowest point, young people are on the streets. And after the elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin, there is passionate debate about the consequences for democracy. Different elections that have one thing in common: While some celebrate the success of the AfD and the Left as a victory for democracy, others see this as a threat to democracy. Debates are often heated - but what do Germans really think about democracy in the country, even beyond the particularly loud poles?
An overwhelming majority of 87 percent believe democracy is a good form of government. At the same time, almost two thirds are dissatisfied with how it works in Germany. This is shown by a representative survey for the ARD campaign “Your opinion counts!”. Between October 19th and 27th, Infratest dimap surveyed 2,281 people from the German-speaking population aged 16 and over.
More trust in fair elections than in the USA
An accompanying participation campaign, in which more than 80,000 people took part, makes the faces and stories behind the numbers visible. Carina Rengers (28) from Passau says: "We are not heard or supported in any way. It's all the better that we as Gen Z are finally taking to the streets." Andreas Kühne (60) from near Magdeburg is bothered by the fact that, in his view, political discourse only takes place in extremes and that the middle is not present enough. "I do think that democracy works in Germany."
In fact, a majority sees central promises as fulfilled. 72 percent believe that the rights of minorities are protected. Four fifths even agree that parliamentary elections are free and fair. For comparison: In the USA, the world's oldest democracy, according to an Ipsos poll in the run-up to the midterm elections, only three fifths were confident that the elections would be conducted fairly and correctly.
But the Germans' image of their democracy also has its flaws. Around a third have doubts that courts treat everyone equally, that the media reports freely and that people can express their opinions freely. Only every second respondent is of the opinion that politics ensures the social security of citizens. Trust in this point is lowest among the youngest: six out of ten people under 30 do not believe in it - an explanation for why young people in particular are taking to the streets in many places.
A third see right-wing extremism as the greatest danger
If you ask openly about the greatest threat to democracy in the country, one in three (34 percent) cites right-wing extremism - the most common answer in both West and East. “The AfD and other right-wing extremists in their environment are currently the greatest danger,” says Christoph Deike (42) from the Erzgebirge. "All pillars of democracy are equally important. If one were to shake, then anti-democrats would be able to use it to attack the other pillars as well."
For one in six (16 percent), however, the actions of politics and administration that are perceived as dysfunctional are the greatest threat to democracy - the second most frequently mentioned. Ines Homann Scholl (47) from Hamburg criticizes the strict demarcation of other parties from the AfD: "I myself am an AfD dropout and don't like the AfD, but I see the firewall as the greatest threat to democracy."
Such fundamentally different views sometimes pervade neighborhoods, friendships and partnerships. Some consciously avoid political topics, others keep their distance completely. Anna Püschel (37) from Mönchengladbach, for example, draws conclusions when she has recurring conflicts with the same people: "I just distance myself from them at some point." In Germany as a whole, a good one in four people say: "I would like to have as little to do as possible with people who think very differently politically than I do."
“Listening to other opinions is essential”
At the same time, almost two thirds are open to exchange ideas with people who think differently. “Listening to other opinions is essential in a democracy,” says Judith Schatz (31) from Augsburg. "That we manage to listen to each other and that we also find common ground, which is important to all of us."
What could strengthen trust in democracy? The ARD campaign “Your opinion counts!” asked for opinions on various instruments that are commonplace in other countries. A majority rejects compulsory voting like in Australia or Belgium: six out of ten are against it, only half as many are in favor. Raphael Bidligmaier (22) from Stuttgart would like above all “more discourse, more cohesion, more active participation from the population”.
Support for citizens' councils, participatory budgeting or referendums
Citizens' assemblies, in which randomly drawn citizens regularly discuss fundamental questions and put proposals on the agenda in the Bundestag, were approved by 63 percent. Isolde Zimmer (67) from Giessen thinks: “Then many more perspectives would have a chance of being included in the decision-making process.”
64 percent are in favor of so-called participatory budgeting, with which people can vote directly on how part of the public budget money is used. The idea originated in the late 1980s in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where proponents boasted that it could significantly improve water and health care in poor neighborhoods.
Even seven out of ten respondents would think it would be right if citizens could vote directly on certain political issues at the federal level - as in Switzerland. “Citizens could really have an influence through referendums,” says Sabine Szameit (69) from Stormarn in Schleswig-Holstein. “Politicians would then have to consider in advance whether their draft laws will find a majority among the people.”
Citizens and politicians bear equal responsibility
Most people do not see the responsibility for a well-functioning democracy as being solely the responsibility of politics: three out of four Germans are of the opinion that it also lies with the citizens.
“Complaining is easy,” says Andreas Hübner (57) from the Rheinisch-Bergisches Kreis. "But it's also important to say: What is my contribution? What can I do? If everyone did that a little more, then perhaps the world would be a little bit better and then maybe democracy would work a little better in some places."
