Political interest is stronger than it has been for a long time

56 percent of respondents said they had a strong or very strong interest in politics between january and september 2017 in a survey conducted by the research group wahlen on behalf of ZDF. This is the highest score in 20 years.

In 1996, 39 percent of respondents said they were very or extremely interested in politics. After an interim high of 52 percent in 2013, the figure fell slightly at first and has risen again since 2014. However, an increase can be observed more frequently in election years. The increase is evident in all age groups. Hardly or not at all politically interested were 10 percent from january to september 2017, which is the lowest value in 20 years.

ZDF director thomas bellut assessed the study positively. "We live in exciting times for news and political reporting," he said. The results are "a good development for democracy and a challenge for us". We will invest even more strength and energy in good and timely information."