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• Political science professor Uwe Wagschal from the University of Freiburg is providing scientific guidance for the app project.
• WahlSwiper covers 38 questions on energy, migration, transport, economic and defence policy, among other things.
• “Our platform helps voters to form an informed opinion based on scientific methods and to better understand political programmes,” says Wagschal.
In the run-up to the early federal election in 2025, WahlSwiper will once again provide an interactive and empirically sound voting aid for voters in Germany. The free app, which is provided by the non-profit organisation VoteSwiper, guides users through relevant political issues and, based on their answers, shows which parties best match their views. The project is scientifically supervised by a team of political scientists from the University of Freiburg led by Prof. Dr Uwe Wagschal from the Department of Political Science.
A total of 27 of the 29 parties competing in the federal election provided answers to the questions on WahlSwiper.
New questions for current challenges
The 2025 federal election WahlSwiper questionnaire includes 38 questions from the most important political areas. Among other things, the following current topics are covered:
• Energy policies: Should new nuclear power plants be built in Germany?
• Immigration and asylum policies: Should there be a cap on the number of asylum-seekers granted asylum?
• Transportation: Should new registrations for vehicles with internal combustion engines be allowed in the EU after 2035?
• Economy: Should the minimum wage be raised to 15 euros?
• Defence: Should compulsory military service be reintroduced?
Wagschal, who has been leading the WahlSwiper project since 2017, emphasises the importance of the app. “Our platform helps voters to form an informed opinion based on scientific methods and to better understand political programmes” he says.
Users answer the questions with a simple swipe (swipe right for agreement, swipe left for disagreement). Their answers are compared with the official party positions on these questions, which were requested from all parties in advance, and the matches are displayed as a percentage. Matthias Bannert, project manager and board member of the VoteSwiper association, adds, “It is important to us not only to confront voters with questions, but also to help them understand the context of political debates through easy-to-understand explanatory texts and short explanatory videos.”
The political camps are becoming more diverse
Wagschal also scientifically evaluates the parties' answers. The SPD and the Greens are most similar in their positions with 89.5% identical answers, closely followed by the SPD and the Left Party, the Greens and the Left Party, but also the CDU/CSU and the AfD (each with 78.9% identical answers). In contrast, there is particularly strong disagreement between the Left Party and the CDU/CSU and AfD (each with 15.8% identical answers). Compared to the last federal election, the differentiation and polarisation has thus slightly increased. In the 2021 WahlSwiper, the proportion of identical answers between the CDU/CSU and SPD was still 58.3%. In the 2025 WahlSwiper, these two parties only agree on 36.8% of the issues.
Different response patterns for questions involving the economy and identity politics
Looking at the questions according to individual topics, a clear left and a clear conservative/right camp can be seen in the parties' answers on economic and fiscal policy issues, with the Left Party, the Greens, the SPD and BSW on the one hand and the FDP, CDU/CSU and AfD on the other (Fig. 1).
On other questions, however, the political camps are close. For example, the left, the BSW but also the AfD support the idea of nationwide referendums, whereas the Greens, SPD, FDP and CDU/CSU reject it. Other questions show a split in the party landscape along a so-called GAL-TAN axis. GAL stands for green, alternative, liberal – TAN for traditional, authoritarian, national. This dividing line is particularly evident in issues charged with identity politics, such as gender language, legalisation of cannabis or a speed limit on motorways. On many of these issues, the BSW tends to be on the TAN side and is thus not dissimilar to the AfD.
For more information and downloading
WahlSwiper is published by the non-profit organisation VoteSwiper. Its aim is to promote democracy and political education. The app will be available for the 2025 federal election in German and English. It is also barrier-free and can be used on both smartphones and on the web. WahlSwiper can be downloaded for free from the App Store, Google Play Store and at https://www.voteswiper.org/.
Contact
University and Science Communications
University of Freiburg
Tel.: +49 761 203 4302
E-Mail: kommunikation@zv.uni-freiburg.de
https://uni-freiburg.de/en/wahlswiper-is-now-available-for-the-2025-federal-elec...
WahlSwiper is made up of 38 questions on current political issues.
Image: VoteSwiper
Figure 1: The left-right divide in economic and fiscal policy issues
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WahlSwiper is made up of 38 questions on current political issues.
Image: VoteSwiper
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