In the 1970s, the opinion researcher Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann formulated the theory of the Schweigespirale, the spiral of silence. Most people fear social isolation. Those who believe they are in the minority therefore tend to fall silent. The Allensbach Institute has asked Germans for decades: Haben Sie das Gefühl, dass man heute in Deutschland seine politische Meinung frei sagen kann, oder ist es besser, vorsichtig zu sein? Do you feel that one can say one’s political opinion freely in Germany today, or is it better to be careful? In October 2025, only 46 percent said that one can express one’s political opinion freely.
The question is about political opinions in public life, not about sharing knowledge in a meeting at work.