A new study by Aiko Wagner has been published by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) as part of the "Cartography of the working class" project. The article examines the connection between occupational classes, political preferences and voting intention. The study shows that party competition in Germany is characterized by tripolar competition.

The study 'A question of class?' by Aiko Wagner examines the current link between occupational class and political preferences in the German party competition. It examines the thesis, which has already been investigated for other European countries, that there is tripolar competition between center-left, center-right and right-wing populist parties. The study is based on the FES survey data from the "Cartography of the working class" project, in which over 5,000 eligible voters in Germany were surveyed in summer 2023. The division into occupational classes is based on the two-dimensional class scheme developed by Daniel Oesch (2006). The study shows two three-pole patterns in Germany's party competition.
While the middle class is contested between the CDU/CSU, SPD and Greens, the AfD, SPD and CDU/CSU in particular are competing for the working class almost on an equal footing.

Eine Frage der Klasse? : Analyse des Parteienwettbewerbs nach Berufsklassen und politischen Präferenzen / Aiko Wagner ; edited by: Department of Analysis, Planning and Consulting. - Bonn : Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, June 2024
ISBN 978-3-98628-521-0

The publication can be downloaded here free of charge (only available in German). You can also find a summary on the FES website.