Gelsenkirchen chooses AfD: A look at the concerns of the citizens!

Gelsenkirchen chooses AfD: A look at the concerns of the citizens!

Gelsenkirchen, traditionally known for the FC Schalke 04 football club and the color of Königsblau, is currently the focus of a political change. In the latest Bundestag election, the alternative for Germany (AfD) in the former coal city has achieved a remarkable result. With 24.6 percent of the second votes, the AfD became the strongest party in Gelsenkirchen and thus achieved the best result of its history. This marks a turning point for the party, which was able to win a constituency in Gelsenkirchen for the first time in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), while it is already strongly represented in eastern Germany.

Some citizens in Gelsenkirchen, such as Silke (65), who currently lives from the citizens' allowance, express their dissatisfaction with the political situation and the conditions in their city in a recent “star TV report”. Silke, who worked as a seller for decades, impressively shows the reporter of the predicament in her quarter, including scrap properties and rubbed backyards. "We used to have a better quality of life," she recalls. For Silke, the city's decay is not only a question of the social situation, but also an emotional well -being. She feels abandoned by politics and is frustrated about the grievances that she and many others in Gelsenkirchen have to experience every day.

political mood and voter behavior

The political situation is further fueled by the concerns about unemployment and flash. In Gelsenkirchen, one of the poorest cities in Germany, many citizens, including migrants, indicate that they have chosen the AfD in order to protest against the high migration. This happens against the background that the AfD in Berlin only received 15.2 percent of the votes and that the left could find 19.9 percent a stronger backing. In Gelsenkirchen, however, it was almost every fourth who gave the AfD his voice, and in districts like Scholven even every third.

Markus Töns from the SPD appeals to the challenges. He sees immigration, especially Southeast Europe, a problem for the city. The difficulties associated with the integration of refugees and migrants without school or vocational training are also intensively discussed by many citizens. The impression arises that the existing social problems form a breeding ground for the rise of the AfD.

The response of the citizens

Silke considered choosing the AfD, but note that it feels the solutions of the party as too extreme. This is shown by the complex perception of the political landscape among the citizens of Gelsenkirchen, which, despite their frustration, sometimes critically deal with the solutions offered. In the reportage, Silke emphasizes that she works with people regardless of her nationality, which illustrates her view of the discussions about migration.

The "Stern-TV report" was broadcast on RTL on April 9, 2025 and is still available on Demand on "RTL+". It strongly reflects the voice of the citizens, who are in a deep feeling of being hanging and uncertainty and at the same time bear the hope of changes in their historic home.