One in two Germans unafraid of far-right AfD party ahead of elections

Nearly half of Germans are unafraid of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), according to a survey by the opinion research institute Insa, ahead of three critical state elections next month. 

The anti-immigrant nationalist party is soaring in popularity, polling ahead of all others, surveys show. 

The Insa poll asked respondents: "Are you afraid of the AfD?" Some 49% answered "No", while 42% answered "Yes," and 9% did not answer. 

The survey, commissioned by the Bild tabloid, found people over the age of 70 were most afraid of the party, with 55% saying yes, they do fear the AfD. 

More than half of the 1,002 respondents consider the AfD to be far-right, with 53% saying "Yes" when asked, the poll found. Some 37% did not regard the AfD as far-right, and 10% did not respond.

The AfD, Germany's largest opposition party, was founded in 2013 as an anti-euro party then shifted direction to focus on reducing migration.

At state level, Germany's domestic intelligence service has classified the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt as a confirmed far-right extremist group. That state is set to hold elections on September 6 and the party is clearly in the lead there, with 41% to 43% support. 

In Brandenburg, Saxony and Thuringia, too, officials classify the party's state branches as far-right extremist.