AfD Leads the Polls—but Barely Gets a Seat on German TV

Despite topping national polls with more than a quarter of the vote, the AfD has received just 4.7% of invitations to Germany’s flagship ARD and ZDF talk shows this year—a gap that raises fresh questions about whether public broadcasters are meeting their legal duty of political balance. Co-leader of AfD Alice Weidel sits opposite German journalist Markus Preiss prior to a summer interview with German public broadcaster ARD in Berlin’s government quarter, as the Reichstag building is seen in the background, on July 20, 2025. - Odd ANDERSEN / AFP. Germany’s public broadcasters are facing questions over political balance after...