The world is watching the final days of the US election campaign, but if the November 5 election were held in Germany, it looks like Democratic candidate Kamala Harris would easily defeat former President Donald Trump.

Pollsters infratest-dimap, working on behalf of public broadcaster ARD, asked German voters which of the candidates they found more convincing, and the answer was clear: 74% said Harris, while Republican candidate Trump could convinces only 11% of respondents. The Deutschlandtrend survey surveyed a total of 1,333 people in Germany, selected according to representative criteria.

Kamala Harris and German interests

Among supporters of Germany’s various political parties, Trump fared significantly better only among supporters of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alliance for Germany (AfD), of whom 41 percent preferred him to Harris, while 26 % trusted her more. The rest have little faith in any of them.

Meanwhile, Germans who support Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats (SPD), the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Greens favored Harris by overwhelming majorities of 90% to 92%. Among those who support Sahra Wagenknecht’s left-wing populist Alliance (BSW), 61% favored Harris, while Trump had to make do with 14%.

The reasons for the clear majority in favor of Harris are varied: a Democratic victory would generally be considered better for German-American relations and the German economy. But many Germans seem to see Harris as the best candidate on issues such as the climate crisis, security in Europe and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Fear for their jobs

Domestically, the survey found that most Germans are worried about the increasing amount of negative economic news. Almost three quarters of people are worried that Germany is losing its position as a business location.

About four in ten respondents doubted they would be able to maintain their current standard of living, while almost one in five working people said they were worried about their jobs.

The German government’s response to the economic news did little to convince people: only about one in eight respondents expressed a favorable opinion of the budget or economic policy of the SPD, Greens and Free Democrats (FDP) coalition under Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

And how should Germany’s sluggish economy be boosted? About 54% are in favor of cutting corporate taxes, while 34% are against it. A good two-thirds would consider investment aid useful in getting the economy back on the path to growth.

Early elections are no longer inconceivable

The poor image of the federal government is reflected in the question of whether Scholz’s coalition should serve out the rest of its term, which ends with the general election next September: 41% are in favor, with around 54% against. Among supporters of the ruling SPD and Green parties, however, a majority of more than 70% favors continuing the coalition.

By contrast, in AfD circles, almost everyone, around 93%, hopes for early elections. Among supporters of the center-right CDU, which has been leading the polls for months, nearly 70 percent hope for an early government shutdown. Among BSW, the figure is three out of four.

AfD in second place

The poll suggested the conservative CDU and its Bavarian sister party CSU would emerge as clear winners in the federal election if it were held now. With around 34% (+3), the CDU/CSU achieved its best poll rating in Germany since February 2021.

The AfD would remain the second strongest party with 17% unchanged, closely followed by the SPD with 16%. The Greens would reach 11% (-2), and the BSW at 6% (-2).

The currently governing FDP would get 4% (+1) of the vote, which would mean they would quit the Bundestag. All other parties, including the Socialist Left Party, would achieve a total of only 12%.

This article was originally written in German.

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