YouGov survey: Concern about political influence on the Federal Constitutional Court

Karlsruhe. Half of those eligible to vote in Germany assume that politicians will try harder to influence decisions made by the Federal Constitutional Court in the next few years. According to a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 50 percent of those surveyed believe that such attempts will increase. Only 3 percent said they will lose weight; A good quarter (27 percent) believe that nothing will change in this regard. The rest did not comment.

Compared to other constitutional bodies and institutions, the Federal Constitutional Court still enjoys a relatively high level of trust among citizens. While only 29 percent of those surveyed said they somewhat or completely trusted the federal government, this figure was 66 percent in Germany's highest court. In the Bundestag it was 38 percent. Among AfD voters, however, only 34 percent said they trusted the Federal Constitutional Court.

According to the survey, 72 percent of those eligible to vote believe that Germany's highest court is independent - it makes its decisions without instructions from the federal government or other state authorities. Only 46 percent of AfD voters believed this. Two thirds of all respondents (67 percent) said that the court made its decisions impartially, i.e. without taking sides with the government or a political group. 36 percent of AfD voters believed this.

2,161 eligible voters took part in the survey from September 11th to 14th. The results were weighted and are representative of those eligible to vote in Germany aged 18 and over. The Federal Constitutional Court began its work in 1951.