Local elections in NRW: This is the mood in the state

Next Sunday, elections will take place in Germany's most populous federal state: 13 million people in North Rhine-Westphalia are called upon to elect their local representatives.

Whether it's the district administrator, mayor, district council, or city council, local politics has a direct impact on the lives of local people. This also brings with it different issues, concerns, and issues than those that are decisive in state or even federal elections.

A representative survey of the country's eligible voters shows what is important to people and how satisfied they are.

According to the results of the trend barometer, the mood across the country is quite positive. Nearly 80 percent of the representatively selected respondents stated that they were satisfied or even very satisfied with the living conditions in their city or municipality.

But where there is sun, there is also shadow: People in NRW are particularly less or not at all satisfied with the condition of roads, bridges and cycle paths (69 percent) and affordable housing (58 percent).

However, it is also typical for these areas that there can be strong differences between urban and rural areas.

A good example is public transport. 53 percent of respondents living in a large city in North Rhine-Westphalia said they were satisfied with their city's public transport. Among those living in a small town, the figure is just 27 percent.

Conversely, the contrast between urban and rural areas is evident in the condition of the transport infrastructure: 39 percent of respondents from small towns are satisfied with it, compared to just 22 percent of those from large cities.

Both groups are most satisfied with the security and order in their cities, although to varying degrees.

A full 45 percent of respondents said they were interested in the upcoming local elections. 22 percent were even very interested. 32 percent said they were not at all or only slightly interested.

This is also evident when looking at the age groups. At 71 percent, those aged 35 to 49 are most interested in the election. The least interest is seen among those with a low level of education: only a narrow majority stated that they were very or even very interested in the upcoming election in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Although local elections elect the lowest levels of political representation, every election is also a test of the mood for the federal government.

It is currently not enjoying much popularity nationwide: the CDU/CSU and SPD together receive just 36 percent of the vote.

When asked which party respondents would trust most to solve their community's problems, a mixed picture emerges. While 23 percent of respondents trust the CDU to do so, only 15 percent trust the SPD. By comparison, 12 percent of respondents don't trust any party to solve the major problems.

However, significant differences emerge across age groups. 31 percent of respondents aged 65 or older place their trust in the CDU. Among 16- to 34-year-olds, in contrast, the figure is just 16 percent. The gap in perceptions of the AfD is the most marked. Only three percent of those over 65 believe the AfD can solve local problems. Among the younger age group, 15 percent believe this. This places the far-right party in second place in the party rankings among 16- to 34-year-olds.

The representative study was conducted by infratest dimap on behalf of WDR. 5,550 eligible voters from North Rhine-Westphalia were surveyed in telephone and online interviews between August 12 and 28, 2025.