A German study on Tuesday found that the country is polarised, with immigration seen as the greatest cause of division.

The study team at the Technical University of Dresden found wide ideological differences on issues such as measures to combat climate change and aid for Ukraine.

The two issues, along with immigration, also ranked high for affective polarisation, a term that covered dislike or distrust for those with opposing views.

No fewer than 34,000 people in eight EU member states were surveyed for the researchers’ “polarisation barometer”, including 4,400 in Germany.

The team found that on some issues, opinions differ widely without democratic cohesion having to suffer, while on others, conflicts escalate because political opponents become enemies.

Author Hans Vorländer warned that “not a day goes by without a reminder of the growing division”, with 81 per cent of respondents saying the country was polarised.

But a distinction must be made between holding different opinions and polarisation, he argued.

He explained that “we need to differentiate when polarisation really endangers democracy and when it is a normal part of pluralistic politics.

“Ideological polarisation is necessary to a certain extent in democracies, but effective polarisation, on the other hand, can weaken democratic cohesion. This is because it blocks understanding and turns political competition into enmity.

“The issue of environmental protection was particularly divisive, with 41.6 per cent of respondents saying that current measures were nowhere near enough to tackle the problem, while 39.6 per cent said they went too far.”

(dpa/NAN)