Tear Down This (Fire)Wall? How Uncertainty Surrounding the Cordon Sanitaire Affected Attitudes in Germany's 2025 Election
Abstract
Traditional European parties face a dilemma: they must choose to accommodate or exclude far-right parties in policy and coalition formations. Although breaking a cordon sanitaire may counter far-right appeals, it could also legitimize the party and increase its voter base. We test these competing expectations during the 2025 German federal election, strategically varying whether the presumptive coalition leader (the cdu/csu) is portrayed as breaching or preserving the Brandmauer (firewall) against the far-right AfD. We find that neither accommodation nor exclusion of the far right affects German voter party approval, democratic satisfaction, vote choice, or immigration attitudes. These findings suggest that party strategies toward the cordon sanitaire may have limited influence on voters, providing implications for the efficacy of the firewall as a stand-alone defense against the far right.
Publication Title
German Politics and Society
Recommended Citation
Fahey, J., & Alarian, H. (2025). Tear Down This (Fire)Wall? How Uncertainty Surrounding the Cordon Sanitaire Affected Attitudes in Germany's 2025 Election. German Politics and Society, 43 (4), 49-74. https://doi.org/10.3167/gps.2025.430404
